Two and a Half Weeks
by Abandoned.See new ZefronsAngel
Summary: Gabriella stays at Troy's house until graduation passes instead of moving to California with her mom. Kind of based on HSM3. TROYELLA, obviously.
1. Week One: Day One: Sunday

We all know what happened in High School Musical 3. Gabriella had to move to California with her mom so she could go to the Freshman Honors Program at Stanford and also because her mother's work transferred her there. Then, Gabriella ends up missing Troy, and Troy misses her. He drives all the way from Albuquerque to California to pick her up for the senior year musical and graduation. Also, while there, he has a very small (but awfully sweet) prom with her. But what would happen if Gabriella's mom gave Gabriella permission to stay with Troy for two and a half weeks until prom, the musical, and graduation passed? And what if Troy's parents also agreed to the plan?

* * *

Gabriella followed Troy into his large, messy bedroom. "Wow! Except for the mess, your room is so nice!" she exclaimed, looking at the queen-size bed with an end table next to it, the five-drawered dresser, the flat screen TV, and all the thousands of photos of him in his basketball uniforms over the years. Seeing his first grade one, Gabriella rushed over to it. "Aw, look how cute you were when you were little!"

"And I'm not cute now?" Troy asked teasingly.

"You are," Gabriella giggled, walking over to Troy to give him a hug.

Troy returned his girlfriend's affection. "So, what do you want to do?" he wondered.

"I don't know," Gabriella answered. "Whatever you want to."

"How about we go see if Chad and Taylor want to hang out with us?" Troy suggested. "It's twelve-thirty. Maybe we can grab lunch with them."

"Sounds great!" Gabriella agreed. "Let me just get on my flip-flops and then we can go."

"Alright." As he released his hold on her, Troy pressed a kiss onto his girlfriend's left cheek, causing a slight blush to come over her smiling face.

* * *

Troy, Gabriella, Chad, and Taylor walked through the door of Albuquerque's most popular hang-out spot. And that was McDonald's. Troy, Gabriella, and Taylor had wanted to go to a better restaurant than a fast food one, but Chad's begging and whining about wanting a double cheeseburger, large fries, and a super-sized soda mede everyone change their minds.

"Isn't this like the best place on earth?" Chad said.

"No," Taylor disagreed. "The food here has way too much grease-it's unhealthy for you. And the level of cleanliness is very low."

"You are the weirdest person I've ever met," Chad commented.

"No, you are," Taylor disagreed.

Troy reached for Gabriella's small hand and gently curled his fingers around it. "So, what do you want to eat, sweetheart?" he wondered.

"Ice cream sundae," Gabriella giggled.

"For lunch? Gabriella, you're silly."

"Troy, you know the ice cream is probably the healthiest thing at this place," Taylor remarked. "So Gabriella, you're being very smart by choosing it. I'm gonna follow your example."

"I'm not," Chad announced. "I'm gonna get my double cheeseburger-no make that a double _bacon_ cheeseburger, large fries, a super-sized soda, _and_ an ice cream sundae."

"Chad," Taylor began. Then, deciding Chad wouldn't listen to anything she said, she chose to save her voice.

Chad hurried over to the front counter to order his large meal. After he was finished, Taylor and Gabriella asked for ice cream sundaes, and Troy got a regular size cheeseburger and medium fries.

"Come on," Chad urged. "Let's go sit down somewhere." He walked over to the first available table he saw and sat down. "This is a good place."

Taylor, rolling her eyes, slid into the seat next to Chad, while Troy and Gabriella sat across from them, still holding hands.

Gabriella used her free hand to unwrap one of the plastic spoons that was given with her ice cream, then began to eat. "Troy, you want any?" she offered.

"Alright," Troy agreed.

Gabriella got some ice cream on her spoon, then held it out for Troy to eat.

Troy, after eating the food his girlfriend had let him have, held one of his French fries up to her mouth. "Eat it," he ordered gently.

Gabriella listened to Troy. When she was finished chewing and swallowing, she told him, "That was good. And you have ice cream on your nose." As she spoke, she leaned over, pressed her nose against his, and started to nuzzle it in attempt to get the ice cream off. She and Troy both loved that form of affection.

Troy copied Gabriella's actions. "I lo-"

"Guys! Stop it!" Chad demanded loudly. "There are people trying to eat here who don't want to watch 'Mr. and Mrs. Bolton' doing things that can cause throwing up."

Gabriella and Troy both stopped what they were doing and turned their attention back to their food.

"Chad, why did you have to go and ruin the that?" Taylor questioned. "It's not your job to sabotage Troy and Gabriella's little moments, you know."

"Yes it is! I'm getting paid forty dollars an hour to do that work! And I love it!"

"Chad-"

"Just eat your ice cream."

* * *

"Well that was eventful," Gabriella commented as she and Troy walked through the door of Troy's house.

"Anything involving Chad is eventful," Troy reminded, following Gabriella. Once he was inside, he shut the door. "Do you wanna go upstairs and help me clean my room?"

At that moment, Troy's mother, Lucille, entered the room. "Troy, are you asking your girlfriend to help you clean your room? How rude!"

"But we need something to do."

"Well then go on the computer, watch TV, eat a snack, listen to music, practice for your musical, _something_," Lucille told her son.

"Alright. We'll do something that's not cleaning my room."

"Thank you," Lucille said as she left her son and his girlfriend alone.

Troy turned to look at Gabriella. "What do you wanna do?"

"How about we go outside and hang out in your tree house? I never got to finish looking at everything in it at the Wildcats' after party."

"Okay," Troy agreed. "I guess we can go in my tree house. Let's get outside through the back door."

Gabriella followed Troy over to, then out of, the back in his yard, she ran to his tree house and climbed up the ladder to get into it.

"Wow, you're excited," Troy observed as he, too, went up in his tree house.

"I like it up here. You know, after we can't use the school roof anymore, this can be our place to go if we wanna be alone."

Troy smiled. "Yeah. it could."

Gabriella hurried over to the pile of things from when when Troy was little and began looking through it. She stopped when she saw a photo of him with her. In it, they had their arms wrapped around each other and smiles were on their faces. "Troy, why is there a picture of us up here?" she wondered.

Troy walked over to Gabriella and looked at the picture. "Well, this is kind of the place I put things that are really special to me. And this picture was something really special."

"You're sweet," Gabriella commented.

"Thanks. That was nice to hear."

Gabriella smiled. "This tree house is full of surprises, isn't it?"

Troy nodded. "If you keep looking, you'll find a card you gave me, every note I've gotten from you, and more pictures."

"Aw, Troy," Gabriella said. "I'm really special to you, aren't I?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah," he admitted. "You are. You're different than any other girl in the world; you're the only one who liked me that never acted all hyper and annoying whenever I walked past you. You helped me realize that there's more to life than playing basketball. So much more. And that's why I'm not going to U of A."

Gabriella looked at Troy, her face full of shock. "You're not going to U of A? I thought you really wanted to!"

"No, I don't. I love basketball, but I also-thanks to you-discovered I like acting. So I'm going to a college that can offer both of those things."

"But U of A has performing arts classes you can take. Doesn't it?"

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella. "Yeah. But you won't be there, so what's the point of going?"

Gabriella returned the hug. "So where _are_ you going to college then?"

"Berkeley. It's not far from Stanford. We could visit each other every weekend, vacation day and maybe even some days we have college. We'll only be about an hour or so away from one another."

"Troy, your plan is amazing." Gabriella looked at Troy, her brown eyes glistening with happy tears. "I can't believe you did this because of me."

"I had to. I'm not gonna risk losing you. Because," Troy paused. He didn't know what to say, so he decided to tell Gabriella how he felt through a song:

_It's like catching lightning  
__The chances of finding someone  
__Like you_

_It's one in a million  
__The chances of feeling the way  
__We do_

_And with every step together  
__We just keep on getting better_

_So can I have this dance?  
__Can I have this dance?_

"You wanna dance?" Gabriella asked gently.

Troy nodded. He then started singing the song from the beginning as he danced with Gabriella, who sang with him:

_Take my hand  
__And take one step  
__Pull me close  
__Take a breath_

_Keep your eyes  
__Locked on mine  
__And let the music be your guide._

_Won't you promise me (Now won't you promise me)  
__That you'll never forget (We'll keep dancing)  
__To keep dancing  
__Wherever we go next_

_It's like catching lightning  
__The chances of finding someone  
__Like you_

_It's one in a million  
__The chances of feeling the way  
__We do_

_And with every step together  
__We just keep on getting better_

_  
__So can I have this dance? (Can i have this dance?)  
__Can I have this dance?_

_Take my hand  
__I'll take the lead  
__And every turn  
__Will be safe with me_

_Don't be afraid  
__Afraid to fall  
__You know I'll catch you through it all_

_And you can't keep us apart (Even a thousand miles can't keep us apart)  
__Cause my heart is where ever you are (Cause my heart is where ever you are)_

_It's like catching lightning  
__The chances of finding someone  
__Like you_

_It's one in a million  
__The chances of feeling the way  
__We do_

_And with every step together  
__We just keep on getting better_

_So can I have this dance? (Can i have this dance?)  
__Can I have this dance?_

_Oh,  
__No mountain's too high  
And no ocean's too wide_

_Cause together or not  
__Our dance won't stop_

_Let it rain, let it pour  
__What we have is worth fighting for  
__I know I believe  
__That we were meant to be,_

_Yeah,  
__It's like catching lightning  
__The chances of finding someone  
__Like you (Like you)_

_It's one in a million  
__The chances of feeling the way  
__We (way we do) do_

_And with every step together  
__We just keep on getting better  
__So can I have this dance? (Can I have this dance?)_

_Can I have this dance?  
__Can I have this dance?  
__Can I have this dance?  
_

As the song came to an end, Troy suggested, "Let's end this how we wanted it to end that one day when we were on the school roof." He then leaned down and pressed his lips onto Gabriella's.

Gabriella, delighted, returned the kiss.

When they were finished kissing, Troy decided to let Gabriella know something. Something really important that Chad had interruped earlier. "I lo-" he began, only to be cut off by his father, Jack.

"Troy, what are you doing up there?"

"Nothing really, Dad," Troy answered. "We were uh....um....actually just getting down right now."

* * *

Troy climbed into his bed that night, happy-and not so happy-about the things that had happened that day. "Gabriella," he began. "Are you coming in bed?" Troy had been surprised and very grateful when his parents said they trusted him enough to let Gabriella sleep in his bed with him during her stay. He was looking forward to holding her in his arms all night, giving her good night kisses, and seeing her as soon as he opened his eyes in the morning.

Gabriella nodded, got into her boyfriend's bed, and pulled the covers up to her chin. "I'll try to stay on my side of the bed so I don't disturb you," she told him.

"It's okay if you don't stay on your side," Troy assured Gabriella. "In fact, come here." He then held out his arms.

Gabriella slid over toward Troy and allowed him to wrap her up in a hug.

"I thought you'd be more comfortable if we cuddled a little bit," Troy told her.

Gabriella smiled, giggled a little, and snuggled into Troy. "I think I will. It is pretty comfy."

"Glad you like it," Troy murmured, kissing Gabriella's cheek. "Now, we'd better get to sleep. Tomorrow's Monday so we need to get up early for school. Good night."

"Good night," Gabriella returned as she closed her eyes.

After a few minutes, Troy remembered something. He still hadn't let Gabriella know what she needed to know. Looking down at her face, he tell she was already asleep. _I'll tell her tomorrow, I guess_, he decided silently before pulling his girlfriend closer to him and allowing his eyelids to close so he, too, could drift off to sleep.

* * *

**Okay, so this is my new story. Don't worry, I'm still doing HSM8, but I just really wanted to write this. Please review and tell me what you think of it!**


	2. Week One: Day Two: Monday

Gabriella opened her eyes the next morning when she heard the sound of an alarm clock. For a moment, she wondered why she wasn't in her own bed and room, but then saw Troy, who had also opened his eyes, lying right up against her. "Good morning, Wildcat," she smiled, remembering why she was away from home.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Troy returned. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Good. How about you? Did I move around too much for you?"

"I slept fine. And no, you barely moved around at all. Except somehow you got out of my arms."

Gabriella giggled. "Did you want me to be in them all night?"

"To tell you the truth, yes, I did. But I'm not mad or anything. You can't control what you do in your sleep."

"Troy, is it okay if I use your shower?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah, go ahead. I'll be waiting here. In the bathroom, you'll see a closet. There's a bunch of towels in there. Just try not to take real long because my parents and I need to get in there, too, alright? Sorry if I sound rude, but school mornings are a little crazy."

"You're not being rude. You're just telling me how it is living with your family," Gabriella assured.

* * *

When Gabriella and Troy walked into school that day, they got a lot of surprised looks. Most of the students didn't know Gabriella had ended up not moving to California over the weekend.

"Oh my gosh," Tiara Gold spoke in her English accent as she approached Troy and Gabriella. "Sharpay and I have a problem."

"What?" Troy questioned.

"Her." Tiara pointed at Gabriella. "She's not gone."

"That's right; she's staying with me until after graduation."

Tiara screamed. "I've got to tell Sharpay this!"

* * *

"Sharpay!" Tiara shouted, running up to her friend.

"What?" Sharpay said.

"Gabriella Montez. She's staying here until graduation is over! Whatever are we gonna do! Now you'll go back to playing yourself in the senior year musical, and I'll be stuck as an......an......"

"Understudy." Sharpay finished. "Well, I never thought I was fit to play Gabriella anyway. She's too much of a 'Troy's little perfect princess' for me. I'm totally the perfect one to play Sharpay-because I am her."

"But this will ruin me! Don't you understand?"

"I understand that you're annoying and need to back off! Look, I wanna get into Julliard University, and that won't happen if I play a baby. I need to be myself. Even if it means not getting to dance with Troy."

"You know, I could still get in the musical. I could make Gabriella get sick.....or hurt.....or do that to you."

"You wouldn't dare!" Sharpay yelled. "And I'm happy Gabriella's staying. She's much easier to work with than you."

Tiara turned her back and hurried away angrily.

* * *

"Gabriella, can you help me with my homework?" Troy asked. School was over, and he was in his bedroom with Gabriella, about to start the day's homework.

"Alright," Gabriella agreed with a smile. She grabbed her chemistry textbook, a paper, then seated herself on the floor next to Troy.

"Um....I don't take chemistry," Troy told his girlfriend, confused.

"I know. I'm just gonna do my homework from it until you get stuck on something. Then I'll help."

"I'm stuck now."

"With what?"

"Algebra. Why does the school expect me to know what all these 'Xs' and 'Ys' stand for?"

"I don't know," Gabriella replied. "But let's just get started on your problem."

"Okay." Troy opened his textbook to the page he was supposed to do for homework. "There's fifteen problems to do," he observed. "How long will it take?"

"If we hurry, I can help you have it finished in a half-hour."

"Sounds great!" Troy smiled. "Then we can get our homework in all the other subjects done and do something more fun."

* * *

"Troy, wanna see my prom dress?" Gabriella wondered after she and Troy had finished up their homework.

"Of course!" Troy responded.

Gabriella went over to her things, then took out a photo of the dress she had picked out. Walking back to Troy, she announced, "This is what it looks like."

Troy studied the picture for a minute before saying, "Gabriella, you're gonna look so beautiful."

"I don't think I'll look that beautiful."

"What do you mean? You're the most beautiful girl I've seen in my whole life."

Gabriella blushed. "Thank you, Troy. I really appreciate those words," she acknowledged in a very soft, timid voice.

"Aw, are you being shy with me?" Troy questioned.

"Sorry. I-I'm just not used to compliments like that. Still. After being at East High for a year and a half and knowing you for that long, I can't seem to get used to being complimented."

"It's okay. I would never ask you to change that. Your shyness is what I think makes you sweet. It's one of the things that made me start liking you. A lot. In fact, I don't just like you anymore. That word is an understatement."

Gabriella was blushing even deeper than before. "Troy, are you trying to say that....that...."

Troy put one of his hands under his girlfriend's chin and turned her face so she was staring right into his eyes. "I lo-"

_Ding Dong!_

_Oh, the stupid doorbell!_ thought Troy. Then, aloud, he informed Gabriella, "I gotta go see who's at the door. You wanna come with me or stay up here?"

"I'll come," Gabriella decided.

Troy hurried out of his room and downstairs, Gabriella right behind him. When he reached the door, he opened it to reveal Chad. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hey. I just came to bring you back your basketball. I found it in the gym. You must have left it there after you were finished practicing your free throws."

Troy took his ball from Chad. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you. Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

"What do you want for dinner?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"Whatever you're having is fine," Gabriella answered.

"Well my mom's making some stir fry. I hate stir fries. So I was gonna have something different."

"Like what?"

"I was thinking of going to the pizza place that's down the street, getting a pizza, then stopping in at the grocery store and getting some chocolate covered strawberries. I know you like that meal. I picked it because I thought we could eat together in my room. That is, if you want to."

"Of course I want to, Troy. And could I come with you to get the food? It would seem weird being in your house without you."

"Sure. You can come. Let me just tell my parents we're going, then we can leave," Troy replied.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella were up in Troy's room, sitting on the floor where they had just been eating. All the food was gone except for a couple pizza crusts and one strawberry.

"You know, one of us should probably eat that last strawberry," Troy commented. "You want it?"

"I don't know. I'm kind of full," Gabriella responded.

"Gabriella, this could be the best strawberry in the world and you wouldn't even know because you didn't eat it."

"Troy, you told me this before. When we were in my room last week eating this exact same thing," Gabriella smiled. "Remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Troy replied, leaning toward Gabriella so he could kiss her cheek. He then stood up and walked over to his bed, where he sat down and held his arms out. "Come here."

Gabriella, giggling, rushed over to her boyfriend and jumped into his lap. As she did so, she felt his arms wrap around her tightly in an affectionate, tender embrace while his lips briefly touched the top of her head. "So, what do you want?"

"We need to talk."

"About what?" Gabriella wondered as she reached one hand up so she could gently push Troy's hair out of his face. "It isn't about anything bad, is it?"

Troy shook his head. "No, it's not. It's just about what I was trying to tell you earlier when Chad suddenly came to the door with my basketball."

"Troy, I think I know what you wanted to say."

"Well I'm still gonna tell you anyway. Gabriella, I lo-"

"Troy!" Lucille called from downstairs. "There's brownies in the kitchen if you and Gabriella want any!"

Troy groaned. He loved brownies, but at that moment he really wanted to let Gabriella know how he felt about her.

Gabriella let her head lean against Troy's chest. "Do you wanna finish talking now?" she asked.

"Yeah. What I'm trying to say is I lo-"

"Troy! Chad's on the phone for you!" Jack yelled as he hurried upstairs and into his son's room. "He wants to talk to you about something important."

"Alright," Troy sighed. "Give me the phone."

* * *

That evening, Troy and Gabriella were lying in Troy's bed watching Starstruck. Gabriella had wanted to watch it so bad and Troy, who would have rather watched something else, had agreed. Watching a movie like that was worth it when he got to snuggle up with his girlfriend.

"I love this song!" Gabriella exclaimed suddenly as _Something about the Sunshine_ began.

Troy didn't say anything.

"Wildcat, I'm talking to you," Gabriella spoke.

Again, no response was heard.

Gabriella turned her face away from the TV and looked at Troy, who she saw was fast asleep. _Aw, doesn't he look so adorable and innocent when he's sleeping_, she thought to herself.

Troy stirred a little.

Gabriella smiled, reached for the remote control, and turned the TV off. Next, she turned out the lamp that was on Troy's end table, right behind a photo of him and herself cuddling up in the hammock she had in her backyard when she still lived in her Albuquerque home. After that job was completed, she allowed her small body to press up against her boyfriend's more than it already was and her eyelids to slowly close so she could slip into sleep.

* * *

**Sorry this is so short and I'm REALLY sorry this story is kind of a mess. But this is supposed to be my 'light work' story-it's pretty much just all blabbing about random Troyella scenes that come in my head....**


	3. Week One: Day Three: Tuesday

_Knock, knock. _

Troy opened his bedroom door to reveal Gabriella standing on the other side of it in her pale purple bathrobe. Her dark curls were wet and her face had no make-up on it. However, Troy thought she looked perfect. "You can come in," he spoke softly.

Gabriella walked into Troy's room. "I just forgot to bring my outfit for today in the bathroom with me," she explained. "I'm really sorry. I'm sure I don't look my best right now."

"You're beautiful," Troy assured her. "Just like when you first wake up in the morning and you still have that hint of sleepiness in your eyes."

Gabriella blushed. "Troy, you're too nice. I really can't look that beautiful."

"Gabriella, I lo-"

"Troy, go take a shower before it gets too late!" Lucille called from the hallway. "It's already quarter after six. You need to be at school in an hour."

"But Mom, I'm talking to Gabriella," Troy protested.

"I know you are and I'm sure she's waiting for you to leave your room so that she can get ready," Lucille told her son. "Now in the bathroom-now."

Troy groaned. All he wanted to do was tell Gabriella how he felt about her!

* * *

The hours had passed until it was lunchtime at school. Troy and Gabriella were sitting at a table with Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, and-surprisingly-Ryan. However, Sharpay was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm so excited for the musical," Taylor told Gabriella. "I'm glad you convinced us all to do it."

"You're welcome," Gabriella smiled as she rested her cheek on Troy's shoulder.

Troy turned to look at Gabriella. "Are you tired?" he wondered.

"No," Gabriella answered. "I just felt like leaning against something and since you were close to me, I thought I could lean against your shoulder."

"Oh, well that's fine. You always have my permission to rest against me."

"So, I have the best dance routine put together for the musical," Ryan announced. "I'll have to start showing you all what it is during free period."

"Can't wait!" everyone exclaimed.

* * *

"I got all the costumes for everyone picked out!" Sharpay informed Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, Chad, Taylor, and Kelsi.

"Let's see them!" Ryan suggested.

Sharpay went into the costume room and came out again a minute later holding a stack of costumes. Holding up a hot pink frilly dress that was covered in glitter from head to toe, she told everyone, "This is Gabriella's dress."

"Um...Sharpay," Gabriella began. "I'm sure you mean to be nice by doing this, but I don't like glitter."

"But you haven't seen the shoes yet!" Sharpay then walked back into the costume room and then came out with a pair of super high-heeled silver sandals. "And I'm making an appointment for you at the Lave Springs Nail Salon so you can get your fingernails and toenails done to match the outfit. I picked out the best color in the world of nail polish. Silver!"

"Sharpay, a manicure and pedicure both sound wonderful, but I don't like silver nail polish."

"But you need color on your nails! Look at them; they're boring!"

"I don't have time to paint them or get them done. That's why they're never done."

"Well don't you want them done?"

"Yes, I would, but in a very soft blue; not silver."

"Alright; I guess you can get them done in a color that won't even show up on stage."

"And the shoes. Can I wear different ones? If I wore those, they would make me look taller than Troy, and I wouldn't really like that."

"I wouldn't, either," Troy agreed.

"I guess. But then I'll have to get you a new dress to match the new shoes."

"Can I pick it out?" Gabriella questioned.

"I guess," Sharpay decided.

* * *

"That was a tiring rehearsal," Gabriella commented as she kicked her flip-flops off and let herself fall onto Troy's bed that afternoon.

"I know," Troy said, sitting on his bed and beginning to rub his girlfriend's feet.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella wanted to know.

"Rubbing your feet. They're probably sore and tired after all the dancing we were doing in rehearsal, so I wanna try to help with the pain."

"Thanks. It feels really good."

"No problem."

"Wildcat, do you think Chad and Taylor will stay together after graduation?"

"What made you think of that?"

"I was just thinking of how we're probably gonna stay together after high school, and also wondering if Chad and Taylor would."

"I don't really think so. They're not as close as we are and their colleges are further apart than ours. Way further."

"Yeah," Gabriella agreed.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Troy asked.

"Something relaxing. I'm worn out."

"Alright. How about we just sit and talk."

"Okay." Gabriella pulled herself into a sitting position, then moved around so that she was right next to Troy.

"So, did you think Sharpay did a good job of picking out the costumes for everyone?"

"No," Gabriella giggled. "And I think that's pretty obvious."

"You're silly, you know that?"

"What? I am not silly! You are!"

"No, I think you are."

* * *

"Come in bed with me, Gabriella" Troy said after he got comfortable in his bed.

Gabriella, who was sitting on the floor doing homework while wrapped in a cozy blanket, told her boyfriend, "Just a minute. I'm working on my final essay for the year and I need to get it perfect and work quickly."

"But you look tired. Take a break. Relax."

"Troy, this is serious. I need to do good on this project."

"Please?"

"Alright, fine." Sighing, Gabriella put away her things and climbed into bed next to Troy. "Happy, Wildcat?"

Troy nodded. "Completely happy."

Gabriella snuggled up to Troy, resting her head on his chest. She then looked up at him with pleading eyes that just begged him to kiss her good night.

"What are you looking at me with that adorable face for, sweetheart? You already stole my heart and it doesn't look like you're gonna be returning it anytime soon."

"I...um....well....could I have a good night kiss?" Gabriella looked a bit embarrassed as she spoke.

"Of course," Troy smiled. He then pressed his lips onto Gabriella's.

Gabriella returned the affection.

Troy turned out his lamp, then began, "You know, I still need to talk to you about something."

"Yeah?"

"Gabriella, I lo-"

_Beep! Beep!_

Troy looked over at his alarm clock to find that it was ringing. "Why is my alarm going off? I didn't even set it for this time!"

"I don't know."

Troy then noticed a note next to his clock. Turning his light on again, he read:

_Troy,_

_Just a little joke for ya! Your dad let me in your house to do it before you got home from school._

_Chad_

Troy groaned. Even when Chad wasn't even there he could ruin the moment! Would he ever get to tell Gabriella how he felt?

* * *

**Everyone who's reading HSM8 (or anyone who likes polls) I have a baby name poll up on my page. It's about what Gabriella's baby's name should be!**


	4. Week One: Day Four: Wednesday

"You know, you don't need to be shy about asking me for good night kisses," Troy told Gabriella the next morning as he reached over to turn off his alarm clock, which had just rung.

"Sorry," Gabriella mumbled, her face turning red with embarrassment.

"Aw, sweetheart, you don't need to be sorry. I think it's cute that you're shy," Troy comforted, noticing the color on his girlfriend's cheeks. "I just wanted to let you know that I'll always be more than happy to give you kisses, hugs, snuggle with you, whatever you want at the time."

Gabriella smiled. "Thanks, Wildcat."

"And you know why I would be happy to be affectionate at any time?" Troy asked, pulling Gabriella close to him and positioning her so that her head was resting comfortably on his chest. "Because I lo-"

At that moment, a knock sounded at Troy's bedroom door.

"Come in, I guess," Troy groaned, upset that whoever it was at his door that early had ruined the moment.

The doorknob turned and someone entered the room. That someone was Chad. "Dude! What the heck is this, a sleepover party?"

"What do you mean and-more importantly-why are you here this early?" Troy demanded.

"What I mean is why is Gabriella in your bed? You didn't have an overnight party and not invite me, did you? And I'm here because I decided to wake up early every morning to do some basketball training. I was jogging around the block to warm up, then I was gonna go straight to school and shoot hoops in the gym until homeroom started."

"Gabriella is in my bed because we don't have a guest room and she's my girlfriend, so she doesn't mind sharing my bed with me. And, in case you haven't forgotten, she's staying here until graduation passes. And for your information, I don't wanna do early morning basketball training. I wound rather spend time with Gabriella in the mornings. After all, in a couple weeks, she's officially moving to California."

"But if we're gonna go to U of A, we've gotta be good at the game. Come on, captain. You love basketball. You led the Wildcats ever since freshman year. You're now destined to lead the Red Hawks."

"But I wanna take theater, too. And plus, what will I do if Gabriella's over a thousand miles away from me? I've never been away from her for more than a day before. I don't know what I would do if all of a sudden she wasn't there."

Chad rolled his eyes.

"Troy, are you and Gabriella getting up?" Lucille questioned as she walked into her son's room. Then, she saw Chad. "What are you doing here this early, Chad?"

"Early morning exercise," Chad replied.

"Oh. Well you're gonna have to leave." Lucille then looked toward Troy and Gabriella. " Why aren't you two out of bed? Do you feel alright? If not, then stay where you are. But if you do, you need to get up and start getting ready for school."

"We're fine," Troy answered, sounding sleepy.

"Troy, let's go!" Jack called as he, too, entered the room.

Gabriella snuggled into Troy's chest, where her head was still lying.

"What's wrong, Gabriella?" Troy wondered, concerned that maybe there was something wrong with his girlfriend, as he pulled her closer to him.

"This is embarrassing," Gabriella whispered in Troy's ear. "I don't like everyone in here looking at me when I'm in my pajamas and my eyes look tired still after waking up only five minutes ago."

Troy grabbed the comforter that was over him and Gabriella and pulled it far up so that Gabriella was almost totally underneath it. He understood why she didn't want people looking at her in her pajamas. After all, they were just an old tank top which was just the barest bit small on her as a result of being washed several times and a pair of shorts that had gotten a large rip on one of the legs somehow. He knew she was shy about things like that; even though she knew Chad and his parents, she wasn't close to any of the three. However, she was very close to him. In fact, he was the person she was closest to out of everyone she knew-even her mom-and she felt like she could trust him not to be critical about what she looked like in the mornings-despite the fact she still blushed at compliments or kind words he told her.

Gabriella buried her face in the red Wildcats t-shirt her boyfriend had on.

"Um, could you guys all leave my room?" Troy requested. "It's kind of awkward with you staring at Gabriella and I." As he spoke, he fought the temptation to press kisses onto the top of Gabriella's head. After all, she was being pretty cute and her actions were pretty much begging for affection.

Troy's parents left.

"Chad?" Troy prompted. "Come on, leave us alone."

"Dude, we gotta talk out the situation of you going to college in Cali."

"We'll talk later. For now, Gabriella and I need our space."

"But-"

"Leave."

"Whatever." Chad left the room, annoyed.

* * *

"Mr. Bolton, Miss Montez, detention!" Ms. Darbus yelled as soon as Troy and Gabriella walked into homeroom holding hands, late due to Chad's interruption of that morning. Gabriella's curls were still wet from the shower she had taken; she hadn't any time to dry them. Troy was wearing shorts that didn't match his shirt-which, by the way, was the shirt he had worn to bed.

Troy cast an irritated look at Chad.

"What did I do?" Chad burst out.

"That detention will go for you, too, Mr. Danforth," Ms. Darbus announced.

"Look at all the trouble you got me into!" Chad exclaimed, looking at Troy.

"Me? You're the one who came over to my house at six in the morning and wouldn't let Gabriella and I get out of bed. Because of YOU we were late coming here!"

"Stop all this!" Ms. Darbus ordered. "We need to get started with things!"

* * *

Troy and Gabriella rushed into Troy's room that afternoon.

"Gabriella, what's this?" Troy questioned, picking up a medium-sized book that was lying on the floor.

Gabriella didn't see the object Troy had picked up. "What's what?"

Troy opened the book to reveal pages of Gabriella's neat, simple handwriting. The book he held in his hands was her diary. Silently to himself, he began to read:

_My mom has agreed to let me stay in Albuquerque with Troy until graduation is over! I'm so happy! If I had to leave, I would be very upset. I would miss all my friends, East High...everything. But the person I would miss most would have to be Troy. Taylor said it didn't matter if I left him. She told me there would be other guys. But that wouldn't work for me. I don't __**want**__ another guy. It wouldn't be the same. Besides, my feelings for Troy are strong-stronger than anyone would ever imagine. I've never felt this way before, but I think I know why I do now. I'm sure that I'm in love with him. But I just can't tell anyone. They would all say I was too young to feel how I do. Though I'm sure I really do love him. He makes me smile all the time, he doesn't care how I look when he comes to visit me in the middle of the night through my balcony door, he's affectionate, and when I want to talk, he'll listen. He thinks it's alright to mess things up once in a while. He calls me his sweetheart all the time and looks at me with the most loving gazes. He's just perfect. I don't know what I would do without him. I really want to tell him how I feel, but I'm kind of scared to. I mean, what if I sound stupid while I'm saying it, what it I get so nervous I burst into tears-_

Troy turned to look at his girlfriend. "Gabriella," he began, closing the diary. He had read enough if it to know what sorts of things it contained.

"Troy!" Gabriella gasped, her face turning a deep red with embarrassment as she reconized the book in Troy's hands. "That's my diary! Oh no, what did you read? Please tell me it wasn't anything really private to me. Please."

Troy rushed up to Gabriella, taking her into his arms and pressing gentle kisses all over her face. "Oh, sweetheart. You're the sweetest girl I've ever met; the words in your diary made me smile."

"W-Why?" Gabriella stammered.

"You wrote that you're in love with me."

Gabriella looked away from Troy, her face becoming even redder than it already was. "Troy. You weren't meant to see that." She groaned. "Oh, this is so embarrassing!"

"It doesn't have to be. Gabriella, I lo-"

"Troy! You left your school stuff down here!" Lucille called from downstairs. "Come get it, please!"

"Okay," Troy acknowledged, annoyed. Why couldn't he get his school stuff later? He was trying to tell Gabriella how he felt about her, and he really needed to because he had just found out that she felt the same way.

* * *

"Gabriella," Troy said that night as he climbed into bed next to his girlfriend, allowing himself to affectionately press close against her.

"Hm?" Gabriella mumbled sleepily.

"I just wanted to talk about what you put in your diary about me."

"Wildcat, that's so embarrassing. Please don't mention it."

"I just wanted to let you know that I love you, too."

Gabriella didn't respond.

Troy looked at Gabriella's face to find she was asleep. Obviously she hadn't heard what he had just told her. But on the bright side, he didn't get interrupted that time. Maybe the time for her to hear the words that meant so much was getting closer.


	5. Week One: Day Five: Thursday

Troy and Gabriella were walking down the sidewalk the next morning, making their way to school. Troy's truck hadn't been working right, and it was a beautiful day, so they Troy and Gabriella had decided to take a walk to East High, even though they did have the option of riding in the bus.

"Troy, do you think I'm doing alright with the musical?" Gabriella wondered.

"Of course! You're great at it!" Troy replied enthusiastically. "And I love working on it with you very much. You're a really fun person, you know that?"

"No, no one has ever told me that one before, but thanks," Gabriella smiled.

"You're welcome." As Troy spoke, he took Gabriella's hand in his and stroked it with his thumb. "And by the way, you look beautiful today."

Gabriella blushed slightly. "Thank you."

A gentle breeze blew.

"It's an awfully nice morning," Gabriella commented.

"Yeah, it is," Troy agreed, leaning over to kiss his girlfriend's cheek.

"What was that for?"

"Nothing in particular. I just felt like giving you a kiss. Sometimes I don't think I do that enough, especially since you're living at my house now."

Gabriella giggled. "You're crazy, Wildcat."

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment," Troy decided.

* * *

Free period came. Everyone was in the auditorium practicing for the musical. Well, Sharpay wasn't exactly practicing, she was sorting out who was going to wear what. Still. She hadn't gotten the message that no one liked the clothes she had picked out, even though they had tried, several times, to tell her that they wouldn't wear something like she had picked out for them.

"Gabriella, I got the new dress and shoes for you!" Sharpay announced.

"I thought you said I could pick them out myself." Gabriella was confused.

"I only said you could pick out the dress, first of all, and secondly, I found one I thought you would like. It was one of my old ones that's too plain for me. And if you don't like it, I can get you a different one again. Trust me, I have a whole _closet_ of old clothes."

"Can I see it?"

Sharpay grabbed a black and white dress that had silver glitter all over it. "See? Isn't it kind of plain?"

"No offense, but I don't think it's that plain....it's covered in glitter."

"But it's black and white-plain colors."

Just then, Troy appeared next to Gabriella. "So, what's going on? Did you get to pick out your dress yet?" he wanted to know.

"No. Sharpay said the dress she's holding right now is plain, but I don't think so. I would much rather pick out my own. And I have a really good idea, too. I could just wear my prom dress. What do you think?"

"You're gonna look beautiful," Troy whispered as he kissed the top of Gabriella's head.

Gabriella blushed.

"Fine." Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Wear your stupid prom dress. Just make sure you go get your nails done before the show. I would recommend a bright of glittery color, but I'm sure you're gonna choose something boring, so I'll just give up trying to convince you otherwise now."

"Thank you," Gabriella smiled. "I would appreciate that very much."

"And what about the shoes?"

"I'll wear the sandals I got to go with my prom dress."

"You are so boring."

* * *

"Do you wanna go somewhere with me?" Troy asked Gabriella after school was over.

"Somewhere as in...." Gabriella began.

"The park, the movies, the ice cream place," Troy listed. "So in other words, I'm basically asking you on a little date. What do you say to that?"

"I accept your offer," Gabriella giggled.

"Great. So where do you wanna go?"

"To get ice cream." Gabriella giggled again.

"Ice cream before dinner, alright!" Troy exclaimed, slightly teasingly.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella were sitting on the sidewalk in front of the ice cream place eating chocolate and vanilla swirl ice cream cones with hot fudge drizzled on the top of them.

"This is so good," Gabriella remarked.

"I know it is," Troy agreed. "This is my favorite kind of ice cream, did you know that?"

"I don't think you ever told me before. But anyway, it's my favorite kind, too."

"You know, I just can't get what you wrote in your diary out of my head. It's been on my mind ever since I read it yesterday. And it's gonna continue taking over my brain until I tell you something very important."

"Troy, you know it really embarrasses me when you talk about that," Gabriella said as she blushed.

"But what I wanna tell you is gonna make it all better. I'm sure of it."

"Alright." Gabriella smiled. "Go ahead. Tell me."

"I lo-"

"Hey, Troy! I've been looking all over for you!" Chad exclaimed, rushing up to his friend. "And then I look here and there you are! But anyway, I just wanted to get more info from you on that other college you were thinking of going to. Are you sure you wanna go there?"

"Positive. I don't like basketball as much as I thought I did before."

"WHAT? But you were the reason the Wildcats won two championships! Back-to-back championships, too! Troy, you're making the biggest mistake of your life! If you get into a professional basketball team, you could get paid millions of dollars! You'd be famous!"

"I don't care about money and fame. I care about doing what's right, and what's right isn't to just abandon Gabriella-and all my other friends and family-for a career."

"Dude, do your parents even know you're not going to U of A?"

"Not yet."

"Troy, you didn't tell them?" Gabriella cut in. She was surprised.

Troy looked at Gabriella. "No. I'll explain why on the way home." He then turned back to Chad. "I gotta go now. See you at school."

"Later." Chad walked away.

Troy then led Gabriella in the opposite direction that Chad had gone in. "I'm scared to tell my parents about U of A," Troy began. "Especially my dad. I don't think he would be very happy about it at all."

"Well you're gonna have to tell them sometime. You can't just go off to Berkeley without letting them know. They'll go to the U of A games thinking you're there, but you won't be," Gabriella pointed out.

"I know, sweetheart. And I will. Just not today. I don't think it's the right time for them to know. Maybe I'll tell them over the weekend or something. I don't know."

Gabriella ate the last bite of her ice cream cone, which she hadn't finished while her and Troy were sitting on the sidewalk. She then reached over and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. "Try not to be afraid. This is something you really wanna do. I can tell. You can't just pretend you're someone you're not."

"You told me something like that during summer vacation last year," Troy murmured, half to himself.

"I know. And it's true."

* * *

"How are you doing with studying for finals?" Gabriella asked Troy that evening. She was in his room with him and they were doing their homework.

"Pretty good. I study for five minutes every day."

"Troy! Five minutes? Do you really think that's enough to pass? You need to graduate. Because if you don't, you'll have to repeat your senior year and we won't be near each other for a whole another school year!"

Troy sighed. "You're right. I really do need to get serious. I'll study for half an hour every night. Maybe even longer if you'll help me."

Gabriella smiled. "I'd be happy to. Let's get started. What's your favorite subject?"

"Gym."

"There's no gym finals. You know that."

"Well I don't really like anything else."

"Alright....well then I'll pick a subject. Literature. Let's go over all the books you read in class this year, decide what the summaries of each of them are, and discuss main characters."

* * *

"What's that?" Troy wondered as he walked into his room that night to see Gabriella admiring a fancy dress.

"My prom dress. It got delivered today," Gabriella replied.

"When? I don't remember that."

"Your mom told me when you were getting a snack. Then, she gave it to me to put away, so I did. I guess you must have missed it somehow."

"It looks even better than it did in the picture. Can you put it on for me so I can see you in it?"

"Not until prom night." Gabriella smiled.

"So you're gonna be all secretive with me?"

"I'm not being secretive! I just want to make prom night more enjoyable for you with a surprise. Will you let me see the corsage you're getting for me?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I want it to be a surprise."

"Exactly."

Troy then walked right up to Gabriella and hugged her. "I lo-"

_Boom!_

"What was that?" Gabriella wanted to know.

"I'm not sure," Troy replied. "It sounded like something falling." He then looked behind him to see that the photo of him and Gabriella that he had on his end table had fallen onto the floor. "Oh, it was the picture of us that I have." After he was done speaking, he went over to the fallen object, picked it up, and put it back in its place. _Why did it have to choose that time to fall?_ he wondered to himself. Would he _ever_ have an interrupted moment with his girlfriend?


	6. Week One: Day Six: Friday

"So, this is our last day of school before the weekend," Troy commented the next morning as he got into his truck along with Gabriella so that they could go to school.

"Yeah. Though I'm not that happy because it means that school's ending very soon and I'll have to leave your house after that happens," Gabriella told Troy.

"I'll come to visit you every weekend until I move down there for college. That would be good, right? I could come Friday evenings and leave Sunday afternoons."

"Would you be going on a plane?"

"Yeah. I don't think my car would be strong enough to drive that long distance every weekend. And anyway, if I take a plane, we'll have more time together than we would if I drove."

Gabriella smiled. "That sounds great. And can I call you every day you're not with me? I've never been away from you for longer than twenty-four hours. I at least have to talk to you daily, even if I can't see you."

"Oh, of course you can call me. I wanna talk to you every day, too. I'm really gonna miss you not being around."

* * *

"Do you wanna go somewhere tonight?" Troy wondered after school was over and both him and Gabriella were back at his house.

"Sure," Gabriella answered.

"Where do you wanna go?"

"It's up to you."

"Well, I was thinking that we could go out to dinner tonight and then either go somewhere else or, if you would be too tired after that, we could come back here, get ready for bed early, then cuddle under the covers on my bed and watch a movie."

"Even if I'm not tired, could we still come back here after dinner? Cuddling is sounding really nice to me right now."

"Yeah, we can." Troy then leaned over and gave Gabriella, who was right next to him, a kiss on the cheek.

Gabriella blushed slightly.

Troy smiled. In his opinion, he thought it was adorable when Gabriella blushed.

"Where are we going for dinner tonight?"

"I was thinking we could try that one restaurant near school."

"Do you think it would be alright if I just kept this dress on?" Gabriella questioned, referring to the blue-green dress she was wearing at the moment.

Troy nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"I didn't know if it would look too dressy for a casual restaurant or not."

* * *

That evening, Troy and Gabriella were eating dinner on their date.

"Did I tell you yet that you look beautiful?" Troy said to his girlfriend.

"Not today, but other days," came Gabriella's reply.

Troy smiled and reached across the table so that he could take Gabriella's hand in his own. Beginning to stroke it with his fingers, he commented, "Your skin is so soft."

"Thanks," Gabriella responded. "And now I think we should finish eating because I'm really anxious to cuddle up with you. Not that I'm having no fun here or anything, but I'm just tired."

"I understand. And I'll concentrate on eating now. Maybe we can get some dessert to take home with us and eat either during the movie we're gonna watch or tomorrow after lunch or dinner."

"That sounds good."

* * *

Troy and Gabriella climbed under the covers of Troy's bed and snuggled up to each other. Troy had just put a movie in the DVD player that was in his room.

"I wonder why we didn't think of doing this before you started staying at my house," Troy spoke.

"We didn't think of doing what?"

"Cuddling."

"We've cuddled before, Troy."

Troy thought for a minute. "Yeah, I guess we did," he decided. "But it didn't happen nearly enough."

Gabriella looked at Troy for a minute, then kissed his cheek.

Troy returned Gabriella's kiss by placing one on her cheek, then her lips. "Kisses are another thing we don't give that much," he commented.

Gabriella kissed Troy back. "I know. But believe me, your kisses are _amazing_."

"So are yours. You were the first girl I ever kissed, and I never wanna kiss any others."

"Same with me."

"You know, we're not even watching the movie."

"Yeah, I noticed that."

At that moment, the sound of pouring rain was heard.

"It just started pouring out," Troy announced after quickly glancing out his window. "The weather was fine a second ago. This is why I hate spring sometimes."

"Maybe it'll stop soon," Gabriella suggested.

"Hopefully."

As Troy finished speaking, a loud clap of thunder was heard. After that, the electricity went out.

Gabriella pressed closer against Troy. "I hate when the power goes out."

"Me, too," Troy agreed. "But I know what we should do. Just stay here until it comes back on. I don't think it would be very safe to try to walk around when everything's dark."

"I don't, either."

"So, do you wanna talk about something?"

"Like what?"

Troy shrugged. "I don't know. We could talk about anything, really."

"Can I tell you secrets about myself?"

"Of course, if you wanna."

"Alright. Well, first of all, I used to have glasses when I was in elementary and middle school."

"Aw. I'm sure you were a cute little girl."

"Not really. Everyone made fun of me. So then I got contacts in high school and I still wear them now. I don't have them in right now, though, because my sight's not that bad. It's a mild problem, but still, at school if I didn't use either glasses or contacts, I wouldn't be able to see the whiteboard right."

"Do you still have a pair of glasses?"

"Yeah. Just in case something happens to my contacts. Though I doubt if I would actually wear the glasses. I'd probably just stick with not being able to see perfectly for a couple weeks."

"I'm sure you would look beautiful with them, though. Just as beautiful as you do without."

Gabriella blushed. "Well, the glasses look super nerdy. Not like Kelsi's look-mine just look really look bad."

"I'm sure they don't. And now it's my turn to tell you a secret."

"What's your secret?"

"I've always wanted to be taller. That is, I did until I decided not to be a professional basketball player."

Gabriella giggled. "You didn't wanna be a giant, did you?"

"I wanted to be six feet and eight inches."

"Wildcat, that's so tall! If you were that height, I wouldn't even be up to your shoulder when we would stand next to one another!"

"I know. Well, I abandoned that wish now, so we don't need to worry about it."

Just then, the lights came back on.

"Oh, look, we have light again," Troy remarked.

"I'm so glad! I thought it was gonna be out for hours!"

* * *

That night, around eleven-thirty, a half hour after Troy and Gabriella had fallen asleep, Gabriella's eyes opened and tears began to fall from her eyes. She had just had a bad dream. Snuggling close to Troy for comfort, she buried her face deep into his chest and gripped him tightly, not wanting to let go at all.

"Gabriella?" Troy groaned sleepily as he woke up from his girlfriend's actions.

"T-Troy," Gabriella whimpered.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Troy asked, getting into a sitting position, then pulling Gabriella onto his lap and hugging her small body close to his.

"I-I h-had a b-bad d-dream. S-Sometimes t-this h-happens t-to me. I-I k-know. I-It's b-babyish."

Troy took his thumb and began wiping his girlfriend's tears off her face. "It's okay," he soothed softly. "And it's not babyish to have bad dreams. It happens to everyone once in a while."

Gabriella, still crying a little bit, laid her cheek on Troy's shoulder. "T-This is e-embarrassing."

"It's alright. Being scared isn't something to be ashamed of. Though still, I promise I won't tell anyone about this. And just to let you know, I'm really enjoying trying to comfort you."

Gabriella managed to smile. "Are you sure you're not annoyed?"

"Let me tell you something. You're sweet, you're adorable, and you're living here-with me-for a couple weeks. It's my job to take care of you and protect you; I like it, too. A lot."

"I don't wanna go back to sleep. I'm scared to."

"I have an idea," Troy began.

"What?"

"I promise I'll hug you as tight as I can and you can hug me back while we try to sleep again. Would that make you feel a little better? If you knew I was right with you?"

Gabriella nodded.

Troy gently moved Gabriella off of his lap, lying her down next to him before lying down himself.

Gabriella got close to Troy, wrapping both her arms around him tightly.

Troy returned Gabriella's hug, then kissed her forehead. "Do you think you're gonna be okay?"

"I think so."

Troy pressed another kiss onto his girlfriend's face. "Okay, well then let's try to get some rest. And if you get scared again and I'm asleep, please wake me up."

"Are you sure? I don't wanna disturb you."

"Tomorrow's Saturday. We can sleep as late as we want. So if you do need to wake me up, I wouldn't be losing any sleep, because I can just sleep in tomorrow."

"Okay. I will."

"Great. Now just one more thing I wanna say to you."

"What?"

"I lo-"

A knock at Troy's door interrupted what he was about to say.

"Who is it?" Troy questioned, annoyed.

"It's me," replied Jack. "You need to stop talking. It's late and your mother and I are trying to sleep. So if you could stop talking, that would be great."

"Okay," Troy acknowledged, rolling his eyes a little. Then, looking at Gabriella, he whispered, "Good night."

"Good night," Gabriella returned.

* * *

**Just in case you're wondering why I'm updating this before HSM8, it's because I got ideas for this, and my chapter for HSM8 is really long. Also, I'm getting a little stuck with HSM8...but it'll be out ASAP. **


	7. Week One: Day Seven: Saturday

"Gabriella, do you wanna go bowling today?" Troy wanted to know the next morning after both him and Gabriella were awake.

"That sounds like fun," Gabriella responded.

"Yeah, I thought it did, too. So how did you sleep last night, then? You didn't get scared anymore, did you?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No. I slept fine."

"That's good to hear." As he spoke, Troy walked over to the closet that was in his room and grabbed some shorts and a t-shirt from it. "I'm gonna go get a quick shower, alright?"

"Okay. I'll wait here for you."

"Would you like a kiss before I leave the room?"

"Yes, please," Gabriella giggled.

Troy walked over to his bed, where Gabriella was still lying. Bending down, he pressed a gentle, sweet kiss onto her lips.

Gabriella returned the affection with a smile.

* * *

That afternoon, Troy and Gabriella entered the bowling alley. After doing that, they went to the counter inside of it, got some bowling shoes and bowling balls, then picked a lane to bowl in. Unfortunately, as soon as they did all that, Chad walked into the building.

_Maybe he won't see us,_ Troy told himself. _Hopefully not. Because for a best friend, he sure can be really annoying at times, especially when he ruins my moments with Gabriella._

"Hey, Troy!" Chad greeted, rushing up to his friend.

Troy held in a groan. "Hey, Chad."

"So, did Gabriella drag you here, too? That's what Taylor did to me. She made me promise to meet her here, though I see she's not here yet. Anyway, since you and Gabriella are bowling, maybe Taylor and I could play against you? What do you think?"

Troy hesitated for a moment. On the way to the bowling alley, him and Gabriella had been talking about how they wanted to just relax by themselves without any interruptions. But, on the other hand, he knew Gabriella was friends with Taylor.

"Hello? Troy?"

"No, Gabriella and I were looking forward to a little alone time. Maybe we can all go bowling a different day. But for now, we're on a date-not a double date-a date."

Chad rolled his eyes. "Fine."

* * *

"It looks like you're winning," Gabriella observed when her and Troy were halfway done their bowling game.

"I'm not going too hard on you, am I?" Troy checked.

Gabriella shook her head. "No; not at all, Wildcat."

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella's waist. "You know, you're a really good girlfriend, and I lo-"

At that moment, Chad ran up to where Troy and Gabriella were standing. "Do you know where the vending machine is in this place? I need some M&M candy; I'm starving."

"It's right over there along that wall," Troy replied, trying to keep the annoyance he was feeling out of his voice.

"Okay."

* * *

Troy and Gabriella sat at the bowling alley, finishing up a snack of a soft pretzel they had split between the two of them. Chad and Taylor had just left.

"Why does Chad seem to show up everywhere we go?" Troy said.

Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know. I think he likes interrupting our dates and stuff. Though it's annoying that he shows up at the very most inconvenient time-when you're about to tell me something I think is important."

"Yeah. Well I guess I could tell you now."

"Go ahead," Gabriella smiled.

"Alright. I lo-"

"Troy! I think I left my basketball in here!" Chad exclaimed, rushing into the bowling alley. "Can you help me look for it? Did you see it at all? Please say 'yes' to either one of those!"

"I don't remember even seeing you come in here with it." Troy sounded angry-not just annoyed-angry.

"What's wrong, dude?"

"You don't know how long I've been trying to tell Gabriella something very important to both me and her. You don't know how much she needs to know what I have to say. You just don't know and I doubt you ever will!" Troy yelled.

"Yeah, you're probably gonna tell her something stupid-like 'I love you.'"

"Chad, that's not a stupid thing to say."

"It is when that's all you care about."

Troy didn't answer.

"You're not even gonna say that's not all you care about? You mean-you care about Gabriella _that_ much? I have a girlfriend, too, and I'm not so crazy about her that I'm mean to my best friend."

"There's a difference between the relationship of Gabriella and I and you and Taylor."

"No there isn't! We both go on dates, we both never kissed-"

"I've kissed Gabriella before! She lives at my house now! You think that I just ignore her every second of the day? Of course I've kissed her! Several times! Over the summer, a few times this school year, all the time at my place...seriously!"

"Have you done 'it' yet?"

"Chad, it's none of your business."

"You did do 'it' then-if you won't tell me! Oh, when your son's born, name him after me. Please?"

"What son? What _baby_ even? Chad, you're making no sense! Gabriella and I are not going to be parents! And what about you? When Taylor has your son, name him Troy-after me." The last two lines were spoken sarcastically.

"No!"

"Now please, I'm trying to be alone with Gabriella. So get your stupid basketball and leave us alone!" Troy turned angrily away from his friend and back to Gabriella. Kissing her cheek, he murmured, "I'm sorry for the interruption, sweetheart."

"Can we leave?" Gabriella requested. "I don't feel much like bowling anymore."

"Sure. Let's just return our balls and shoes, then we can get out of here. I know, Chad was embarrassing, wasn't he? I apologize you had to put up with that. Let's just go back to my house and find something to do there-something that doesn't include him."

"Why is Chad you best friend?"

"Sometimes I ask myself that, too. And I never know the answer."

* * *

Troy and Gabriella were sitting down in Troy's living room talking. Troy's parents were out, so they didn't need to worry about anyone hearing what they were saying.

"So, I hope Chad didn't ruin your day too much," Troy told Gabriella.

"He didn't. Well, he did ruin it-but just a little bit, and right now I feel like we're making up for the wasted time. We should've just had our date at home to begin with."

"Well we didn't know Chad was gonna show up at the bowling alley."

"That's true."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Troy stood up and lifted Gabriella into his arms. He then carried her upstairs, where he placed her on his bed and started tickling her as he placed several kisses onto her face.

Gabriella giggled. "Wildcat, what's all this about?"

"I just wanted to make you laugh," Troy answered, continuing to tickle his girlfriend.

Gabriella leaned up and quickly kissed Troy's lips. "You're crazy."

Troy stopped what he was doing and sat down on his bed, then helped Gabriella into a sitting position. Putting one of his arms around her, he said, "You know, I'm having a lot of fun with you. I'm glad you're here."

Gabriella smiled and blushed slightly.

"Am I embarrassing you?"

Gabriella shook her head no. "I'm still not used to all these nice things you say about me."

"Well you're gonna be hearing them for a very long time-probably for the rest of your life. So you might wanna try to get used to it. Well, you don't have to if you don't want to. You're cute when you blush. Actually, you're cute all the time."

Gabriella's face turned a deeper shade of red than it had been before. Wanting desperately to hide it, she buried it in Troy's shoulder.

"Aw, are you being shy? Look at me."

Gabriella lifted her head and looked up into Troy's eyes.

Troy cupped Gabriella's chin in one of his hands and rested the other on her cheek. After that, he allowed his lips to press gently against her small nose.

Gabriella blushed-again.

Troy smiled and cuddled his girlfriend close to him. "Gabriella, I lo-"

"Troy, we're home!" came the voice of Troy's mother from downstairs.

"Mom," Troy groaned to himself. If it wasn't some sort of noise, it was Chad. If it wasn't Chad, it was his parents. Troy was beginning to feel like he would never get to tell Gabriella how he felt. And how in the world was he going to ask her to marry him when the time came?

* * *

**Just to let you all know, I have a poll on my page about this story if you wanna vote in it.**


	8. Week Two: Day Eight: Sunday

"So, have you recovered from the Chad thing yet?" Troy asked Gabriella the next morning as soon as he saw her open her eyes.

"Yeah. I've actually been over it since a little bit after it happened yesterday," Gabriella replied. "Anyway, I was gonna ask you, did you have anything planned for us to do at all today?"

"Not really anything in particular. We could just kind of see what we feel like doing as the day goes on; I just hope that Chad won't butt into whatever we decide on," Troy told his girlfriend.

Gabriella giggled and snuggled comfortably into Troy.

"What's so funny?" Troy questioned.

Gabriella responded by beginning to bounce up and down on the bed.

Troy quickly wrapped both his arms around Gabriella and held her still. "Stop acting all hyper!" he told her playfully as he pressed a kiss onto her cheek. "Before something bad happens!"

"What bad thing could happen?"

"I don't know." Troy shrugged. "You could...bang your head on the wall, break my mattress..." He unexpectedly got cut off as Gabriella forced herself out of his grip and began to bounce on the bed again, causing him to fall onto the floor. "Or I could fall out of bed."

"Sorry, Wildcat," Gabriella apologized, sliding off of Troy's bed and going over to her boyfriend to make sure he was okay. "Are you alright?"

Troy nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just never do that again, sweetheart!"

Gabriella kissed Troy's forehead. "I'm afraid I can't promise that."

* * *

Troy and Gabriella were sitting in the grass of a nearby park, eating ice cream that they had just gotten at the ice cream place not too long ago.

"You know, I still haven't gotten over how you made me fall out of bed this morning," Troy spoke teasingly as he smiled at Gabriella.

"Well you'd better get over it," Gabriella smiled, sliding herself over a bit so she was close to Troy. Gently lying her hand on top of his, she looked into his eyes. "Hey, I just realized that Chad's not here."

"You're right! Oh, this is wonderful! Now I can finally tell you what I think about you."

"Go on."

"I lo-"

"Hey, dude, your dad told me I would find you here. Do you wanna go shoot some hoops? We haven't hung out in a long time. Come on, Gabriella can go do something with Taylor."

"Chad, I was trying to have a moment here-again," Troy informed his friend as he glared at him.

"Okay, okay; I'll leave you to your little moment." Chad walked away as he spoke.

"I didn't expect to get rid of him so fast," Troy commented to Gabriella. "Alright, now back to our conversation. What I've been trying to tell you for so long is that I lo-"

Suddenly, water balloons were tossed right in Troy and Gabriella's faces, causing water to get in their eyes, mouths and all over their clothes.

"Hey, I tricked ya," Chad announced as he suddenly appeared from behind a tree. "I stole some of these water ballons from that little boy's party over there." He pointed to a section of the park where a boy who looked about five years old was standing, a 'Happy Birthday' balloon in his hand. Tears were in his eyes as he looked at Chad, who he had obviously seen take his balloons.

"Chad, don't harass children!" Troy said, anger in his voice. "And that includes teenagers, too. And by teenagers, I mean Gabriella and I."

"The kid can get his parents to buy him more balloons," Chad pointed out.

"So? You were still rude-to everyone at that boy's party and to Gabriella and I." Troy grabbed his girlfriend's hand. "Come on. Let's get out of this place and go home."

Chad, out of nowhere, threw two more water balloons at Troy and Gabriella. "Just a little memory for today!"

"I hate you."

* * *

"That was another disappointing date," Troy observed as he walked into his bedroom, where he saw Gabriella sitting on his bed, using a towel to wipe a few last drops of water off her face.

"It's alright," Gabriella assured Troy, standing up and walking over to him, allowing her hands to rest of his shoulders. "It's not your fault."

Troy reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind his girlfriend's ear. "But I just feel horrible," he murmured lovingly, beginning to gently finger Gabriella's cheeks.

Gabriella closed her eyes. If she looked at Troy any longer, she would be blushing. She could just feel the love from his gaze. And that love was too much for her to handle at the moment.

Troy cautiously touched his lips to Gabriella's in the beginning of a passionate kiss.

Gabriella, her eyes still closed, returned Troy's symbol of affection.

"And Chad thought we didn't have our first kiss yet," Troy mumbled in an amused way as he pulled away from the kiss and allowed his nose to touch Gabriella's.

"He just doesn't know us that well," Gabriella told Troy.

"You know, I just thought of something. Maybe we should have a Chad alert thing-something like a burglar alarm. It could detect when Chad was coming near to us and then we would have enough time to get away."

"You're so crazy, Wildcat."

"I know," Troy whispered, placing a brief kiss onto Gabriella's lips.

* * *

"Prom's this Friday," Troy reminded Gabriella as he got into bed next to her that night.

"I can't wait for that!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"And I can't wait to see you in your dress," Troy told his girlfriend. "Since you aren't letting me see you in it before the prom."

"Well you'll only need to wait a little longer."

"Are you getting excited to see what your corsage looks like?"

Gabriella nodded eagerly. "I'm sure it's gonna be very pretty; just because it's coming from you. And I love anything you give me. You could give me dead roses and I would still be excited about it."

Troy laughed. " Well, Chad's probably gonna get Taylor a basketball instead of a corsage."

"Poor Taylor. She'll have to go around with a huge orange ball on her dress for the evening." Gabriella giggled a little bit.

"I can't believe Chad showed up at the park today. I was sure he wouldn't."

"Maybe at prom we'll get a chance to escape from him. After all, Taylor will probably make him dance with her for a long time. And then he'll complain to her for about an hour."

"Yeah, that sounds like Chad."

"Oh, I guess I have to go get my nails done after school Thursday. You know, because Sharpay insisted."

Troy nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I remember that. I hope she doesn't call the manicure person ahead of time and tell her to paint your nails some bizarre color like lime green. That would be really crazy."

"I'll make sure that I get the color I want."

"That's good to know. Now we'd better get some rest; we have school tomorrow." Troy reached over to his end table and turned out his lamp. "Good night, sweetheart."

"Good night, Wildcat."

After sharing a short, sweet, yet passionate kiss, Troy and Gabriella each rolled over to their side of the bed, closed their eyes, and went to sleep.

* * *

**Sorry this was sooooo short. I'm going through a little writer's block thing now. And for all of you who don't know yet, I recently posted a oneshot called Bringing Her Back.**


	9. Week Two: Day Nine: Monday

Troy glanced at Gabriella from across the cafeteria table. Usually he sat next to her and Taylor sat next to Chad, but due to a terrible conflict between Taylor and Chad, Troy and Gabriella needed to sit apart for that one day.

"Chad, you can be so annoying at times," Taylor commented to her boyfriend.

"Oh, yeah? Well at least I'm not half as annoying as you," Chad defended himself.

"Please stop this," Troy said. "Or else Gabriella and I are moving to a different table. We want to have a relaxing lunch, and here you are-Chad-ruining it. Like you ruin everything else."

"Troy, why are you acting like this? Taylor's part of the fight for one, and for two, I don't want everyone going crazy on me, especially right before graduation," Chad responded.

"Because, I'm already very upset about the fact that you never let Gabriella and I have any moments together. Now you won't let us have a peaceful lunch, either? I don't know what your problem is. Just because you don't have a close bond with your girlfriend doesn't mean I don't have one with mine."

"Dude, we've been like brothers up until this point. Don't tell me you're going off into a whole different direction! First you say you're not going to U of A, and then you act like you're forty rather than eighteen-"

"I am not acting like I'm forty!"

"Are so! Old men are the ones who talk like love is the greatest thing ever. You're barely old enough to get married! Have some fun with your life!"

"My dad's forty-five, and he doesn't talk like that!" Troy protested.

"Your dad's awesome."

"Troy, can we see about that other table now?" Gabriella requested sweetly.

"We most certainly can," Troy answered, getting up from his seat.

* * *

"I cannot believe Chad's behavior!" Troy exclaimed in anger later that day, when he was sitting on his bed with Gabriella. "Well, actually I can, but he's so annoying! I can't even stand him anymore!"

"He just needs to learn to appreciate love," Gabriella told her boyfriend.

"But it seems like it's taking _forever!_"

"Trust me-I'm not too thrilled with Chad's behavior, either."

"The way he's going, he's gonna have no friends and no girlfriend for a very long time."

"I know."

Troy suddenly grabbed Gabriella and pulled her protectively close to him. "And it especially makes me mad when he tries to tear me away from you. Nothing can make me move away from you!"

"I think you already proved that."

* * *

That evening after dinner, Gabriella walked at Troy's side as he went up to Jack to talk to him about not going to U of A. "Dad," he began.

"Yeah, Troy?" Jack spoke.

"I need to talk to you. I'm not going to U of A."

"What?" Jack looked at his son intently, his mouth half open in shock. "What?" he repeated.

"I'm going to Berkeley."

"Berkeley University? Troy, you've dreamed of U of A ever since you were a little boy! I don't know what got into you. Chad will be so disappointed that his best friend isn't joining him at college."

"Chad will be able to handle it fine. It's Gabriella I'm worried about. I _need_ to be close to her, Dad. After we graduate, our relationship is going to change. Most high school kids' do. And most end in a break-up. But I don't want ours to be like that."

"You'll be disappointing everyone, though-me, your grandfather, your uncle, Chad, Zeke, Jason...."

"Just because there's a Bolton history at U of A doesn't mean I need to keep the tradition. I care about something more than basketball. And my friends-they'll be able to live without me."

"But basketball's been your life since you were six."

"I changed. I like other things; like theater. At Berkeley, I can take both basketball and theater, and still be close to Gabriella," Troy said.

"When you got detention on Gabriella's first day at East High, I knew something was up. And I didn't like her at first. But then I got used to the idea of you two dating, and found that she was a good influence on you. But now-independently choosing her over your lifelong friends?"

"Gabriella, you might want to go," Troy suggested.

Gabriella took her boyfriend's advice and exited the room.

"What are you thinking, Troy?" Jack demanded.

"I'm thinking that I'll be happier going to Berkeley, where I can learn more than basketball and be close to Gabriella. She might not be my lifelong friend, but she's my girlfriend, and I feel closest to her than to anyone else I know."

"Even Chad? You two are like brothers!"

"Not anymore. Chad's being a pain in the butt right now."

"Why? What'd he do to you?"

"I want to tell Gabriella how I feel about her, but I never can because he always is right there to butt in and ruin the moment. I finally told him off yesterday, and now I'm in a fight with him."

"You can't do stuff like this!"

"I can. Maybe Chad just isn't a good friend anymore."

"What? Maybe Chad isn't a good friend anymore? What do you mean?"

"I mean, Gabriella's a better friend than Chad."

"What does she understand about basketball? You can't talk with her about jump shots, or defense, or the size of the lockers in the Wildcats' locker room."

"Maybe not, but I can talk to her about how I feel about going off to college, how I feel about my entire future. How I want to do things I'm scared you and all of my friends won't approve of."

"Keep your head in the game! You can be a professional basketball player more easily than you think. Don't quit trying now."

"You think my life's just a game, then?"

"Don't you think that?"

"Why do I feel like I'm talking to Chad? You're saying things that sound exactly like what he would say!"

"Maybe because you're going crazy for some girl you think you have a future with. What happens when she dumps you for some Stanford guy?"

"She won't dump me. I trust that she won't. She's not that kind of girl."

"I just can't bring myself to believe you're making the right choice here."

"I know what I need. And what I need is to be with Gabriella. If we're together, everything will be fine; we can make it through anything. But if we're not, who knows what would happen?"

"Alright. I guess it is your choice. If you really think Gabriella is the one for you, then go to Berkeley. Just don't blame me if something goes wrong."

"So you're okay with it now? Good."

"Yes, I guess I'll have to. I mean, it's your decision."

* * *

"So, how'd things go with telling your mom about Berkeley?" Gabriella wondered that night as she got into bed next to Troy. About an hour after talking to his dad about his college decision, he had talked to his mother about it.

"It went better than how it went with my dad," Troy answered. "My mom knows better about how I feel about being close to you than my dad does. In some ways, my dad and Chad are alike."

Gabriella giggled. "I didn't know I was staying in a house with a second Chad."

"I guess I should've warned you before you came."

"No; it's alright."

Troy smiled. "Well, anyway, we'd better get to sleep." He leaned over and placed a kiss onto Gabriella's lips. "Good night, sweetheart. Sweet dreams."

"Good night, Wildcat," Gabriella returned as she kissed Troy back.

* * *

**Hey, I have a new story, Whatever it Takes! Please check it out!**


	10. Week Two: Day Ten: Tuesday

"Troy, are you gonna talk to me today?" Chad wanted to know the next morning as Troy and Gabriella walked through the doors of East High. "Because yesterday was ridiculously stupid."

"Yeah, you made it like that," Troy muttered to himself. Loudly, he told Chad, "If you promise not to ruin anything with Gabriella and I, then I guess we can try hanging out again."

"Fine. I promise. Now let's play basketball after school-you, me, Zeke, and Jason-at my house. Leave the girl at home for once. I'll tell Taylor to go over keep her company if you're that worried about leaving her by herself with your parents. What do you say, dude?"

"Maybe. I'll think about it. Though I don't really care for the way you just talked about Gabriella. She's not helpless, and she's standing right next to me. Also, Taylor, I understand, isn't getting along with you at the moment. Do you really think she would listen if you told her to go over to my house with Gabriella? She most likely wouldn't, just to tell you before you go waste your time bothering her about it," Troy responded.

"Maybe? Two months ago, that 'maybe' would have been a 'yes.'"

"I changed, Chad. I'm not just the Wildcats' best player anymore. I don't just play basketball." Troy sounded annoyed.

"You said that last year when you were doing that whole musical audition thing. I didn't care for it, then, and I don't care for it now."

"Then maybe you're not really my friend. A real friend would understand me."

"I think you're just overdoing the whole girlfriend thing. Yeah, she might be important, but she's not your life. Basketball is your life. And the only good I get from your relationship is ruining your kiss moments and all that."

"I just went through this with my dad last night and now I have to go through it with you?" Troy let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm more than just a basketball player."

"Yeah, you're my best friend."

"Well if I'm your best friend, then why are you acting like this?"

"I'm trying to steer you in the right direction!"

"You're not my mentor! You're my friend....or, you _were_ my friend."

"I'm not trying to be your memo! I'm just trying to be the one that makes sure you don't make the biggest mistake of your life. And you're gonna regret it if you don't listen to me."

"Memo? Memo? I said 'mentor,' not 'memo,'" Troy corrected.

Gabriella couldn't help but let out a soft giggle at Chad's terrible mistake.

"Well, whatever you said; I'm not trying to be it. So stop accusing me," Troy ordered.

"Chad, go away."

* * *

After school was over and homework was finished, Troy and Gabriella got changed and left for the local pool, to which they had brought some sandwiches to eat for dinner.

"Oh, great," Troy groaned as he scanned the pool area.

"What?" Gabriella wanted to know.

"Chad," Troy replied, pointing to his friend, who was standing in the line for the diving board. He was with Taylor, who didn't look too happy to be there.

"Why does he show up wherever we go?"

"I don't know; I still haven't figured that out."

Gabriella followed Troy over to a beach chair, where she took off the shorts she had been wearing over her bathing suit and placed them on the seat. She then slid her flip-flops underneath the chair. She took a ponytail holder from her purse and put her hair back so it wouldn't get too messy in the pool, then hid her purse under Troy's shirt, which he had put on the chair along with her things; she didn't want it to get stolen.

"Let's go in the pool and try to just avoid Chad," Troy said as he suddenly lifted Gabriella off the ground and into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella giggled.

Troy answered by walked to the edge of the deep end, of the pool where he gently tossed his girlfriend into the water.

Gabriella, after letting out a small scream, managed to get her face above the water and make her way over to the edge of pool wall. She held onto the hot cement and looked around for Troy. However, suddenly, she felt someone pull her down under the water again.

"I got you," Troy whispered in Gabriella's ear as he came above the water with Gabriella in his arms after they both made it to the five foot section.

"You're mean," Gabriella pouted playfully, nestling comfortably against her boyfriend's chest and wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.

Troy kissed Gabriella's nose and rested his head on top of hers. "You don't really think that."

"You're right; I don't."

"You know, I really lo-"

"Hey, Troy!" Chad shouted, splashing his friend with a huge wave of water. "What are you doing, playing the part of Gabriella's lifesaver or something?"

"No, Chad. I'm just carrying her because, in case you didn't know, if she stood in this water, it would be over her face."

"That's because she's so incredibly small."

"She's _petite_, not small. It's not like she has an abnormal height. So can you please not pick on her?"

"I'm not, I'm not. Relax."

Troy rolled his eyes.

At that moment, Taylor, who had been in the deep end of the pool, swam over to where everyone else was. Seeing Troy's irritated face, she wondered, "Chad, what did you do now?"

"I said that Gabriella was incredibly small."

"That was rude! Chad, you can't do that! I'm not the tallest person in the world, either. Are you gonna make fun of me, too?"

"You're taller than Troy's doll-sized girlfriend!"

"Chad, I really don't like you right now," Troy spoke. "Gabriella is a normal size. Stop teasing her about her height! You're so inconsiderate and mean!" He then looked into Gabriella's hurt face. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you here." He placed a kiss onto her forehead. "I'm so very sorry."

"It's not your fault," Gabriella assured.

Troy took one arm away from Gabriella and sent a wave of water into Chad's face. "There you go. I hope you're happy with how you acted."

* * *

Troy and Gabriella had finished up at the pool soon after the Chad incident and were currently at Troy's house.

Troy knocked softly on his closed bedroom door. "Gabriella, sweetheart? Are you in there?" She had still been upset about that whole Chad thing when they had gotten home, and then, on top of that, Troy, in his anger toward Chad, had forgotten to knock before he went into his room where Gabriella had been changing back into her regular clothes. After that, Gabriella had become slightly embarrassed around Troy.

"Yes," came Gabriella's dejected-sounding reply.

"Can I come in?"

"I guess so," Gabriella responded.

Troy turned the doorknob and entered his room, shutting the door behind him. On his bed, he saw Gabriella, who looked very upset, almost to the point of tears. He went over and sat down next to her. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I should've been paying more attention to what I was doing. I should've knocked before I came in my room earlier."

Gabriella didn't say anything, but her cheeks turned a deep red.

"I just want to let you know that I take full responsibility for doing that. Being mad at Chad was not an excuse to be rude and forget to knock. If you're angry with me, I understand."

"It was just really embarrassing," Gabriella told Troy. "I'm not mad at all. I know it was an accident. If it wasn't, you wouldn't have left the room right away. And also, I know you wouldn't do that kind of thing on purpose. I'm more upset about the Chad thing than what you did."

"I'm so sorry about that, too," Troy apologized. "I should've been more protective of you. I shouldn't have mentioned that you can't stand in five feet of water. It was all my fault he was acting that way."

"Don't blame yourself."

Troy wrapped one of his arms around Gabriella and pulled her close. "But I just feel so guilty about all this. I made this day the worst day of your life."

"Actually, the worst day of my life was when we broke up over the summer. That was just horrible. I cried for days over it."

"Alright, well then your second worst day."

"It wasn't your fault. Chad's just Chad. He'll never change. It's not like you side with him when he does stupid things or anything like that."

"If it wasn't because of me, then why did you come in here all by yourself and close the door?"

"I didn't want your parents to see me and ask what was wrong. If I told them about your accident with not knocking, you would've probably gotten grounded or something. And the Chad thing-I just didn't feel like explaining that."

"So you still want to be my girlfriend?"

"You seriously thought I would want to break up with you?"

"If you were really angry, maybe you would consider it."

"I wouldn't give up on you that easily."

Troy pressed a kiss onto Gabriella's head. "And for that, I lo-"

"Troy, come down here!" Jack called. "Chad's at the door!"

"I don't want to talk to him!" Troy responded. To himself, he thought, _Seriously, after being that rude today, why in the world would Chad come to my house? He knows I'm mad at him._

"Anyway, what were you saying?" Gabriella asked.

"That I lo-"

"Troy!" Jack yelled upstairs again. "Chad really wants to talk to you!"

"Let me go so he can be satisfied," Troy mumbled, getting off of his bed.

"Okay," Gabriella acknowledged with a sigh. She had really wanted to hear what Troy had to say, but she knew by that time that every time he went to say it, Chad somehow found a way to ruin everything.


	11. Week Two: Day Eleven: Wednesday

The next morning as the alarm clock sounded, Troy and Gabriella both opened their eyes and climbed out of bed. Overnight, they had slept cuddled against one another; that was Troy's way of saying 'I'm sorry' to Gabriella yet again for going in his room without knocking while she was changing clothes. Gabriella had accepted it and been grateful for the comfort she had felt while sleeping.

"So, are you feeling better than you were yesterday?" Troy wondered.

"Yeah," Gabriella replied. "Much better. And if Chad doesn't tease me at school today or bother us both, everything should be perfect. Though I kind of doubt that he will stop with all he does."

"That's good; I'm sure our cuddles was what made it all better, right?"

Gabriella giggled. "Well, they helped."

"Gabriella, can we sit back down on my bed? I want to talk to you about something."

"We just got up," Gabriella reminded Troy.

"I know, but I really, really wanna talk to you." Troy took a seat on his bed, his back leaning against his pillow, and held out his arms in an indication that he wanted to hold Gabriella close.

Gabriella decided to give into Troy's request and climbed onto the bed next to him, snuggling against his side and resting her head on his shoulder. "So, Wildcat. What do you wanna talk to me about?"

"Our future."

Gabriella gave Troy a questioning look.

"For our freshman year of college, we'll both be required to stay on campus. However, in sophomore year, I don't think I'll want to deal with a roommate and all anymore. So I was wondering if maybe when that time comes, if you would wanna look at some apartments in between our schools and pick one to move into."

"So in other words, you want to live together?"

"Yeah."

Gabriella giggled. "Well, I accept the offer, but I thought you just got finished saying that you didn't wanna put up with a roommate. I'll be like a roommate if we're living together."

"It'll be different. You're my girlfriend." _And probably will be my fiancé by that time, if I'm brave enough to propose to her during this college year....and if Chad doesn't keep interrupting,_ Troy added silently.

"That sounds great, though. It'll be good practice for when I'm married and need to cook and take responsibility for housework."

"Gabriella, you're talking like you're thinking of moving out after college is over."

"Troy," Gabriella began, looking straight into her boyfriend's eyes, "The person I would marry would be you."

Troy smiled and leaned down to kiss Gabriella's lips.

Gabriella eagerly returned the kiss.

As Troy and Gabriella kissed one another, they heard a crack of thunder outside, followed by the sound of rain falling onto the rooftop.

_Chad can't come over,_ Troy thought excitedly. _And my parents will probably think we're getting ready for school; the time is perfect, too. The moment is so right. _Then, as he pulled away from the kiss, he connected his eyes with Gabriella's and told her, "I love you."

Gabriella felt her eyes become glossy with happy tears. She never thought that the day would come. The day when both she and Troy could finally let their feelings out. "I love you, too," she said.

Troy leaned over and kissed Gabriella's lips again.

Gabriella kissed back before wrapping both of her arms tightly around Troy's waist and placing her head against his chest. "Just so you know, Wildcat, I would never dream of marrying anyone except you. You're the only one I ever considered good enough to be my husband."

"Well then, you're lucky because during this college year, I have a surprise for you," Troy spoke while returning Gabriella's embrace.

"You're thinking about proposing, aren't you?"

"I can't tell you the answer to that. You'll just have to wait and see."

"You know, I just realized that we just had an entire conversation without any interruptions."

"Well, it's raining and thundering. Chad wouldn't be stupid enough to try to come here in the rain, would he? Well, maybe he would. He doesn't think through things sometimes."

Gabriella giggled slightly. "I agree."

Troy placed a kiss onto the top of his girlfriend's head and then looked over at his clock. It was twenty after six. "We have twenty-five minutes until we need to leave," he announced.

"Can't we just stay here all day?"

"I wish," Troy murmured.

"Wildcat, how many kids do you wanna have?"

"Kids? Sweetheart, as much as I would be thrilled to have babies with you, that's still a long way off. Don't you think we should get through college before any children are born?"

"Of course. I guess I'm just getting a little ahead."

"That's okay. We do have an exciting future coming up. Well, it looks like we do, anyway. Though when the time comes, I would like to have a minimum of two. A son and a daughter. How many do you want?"

"As many as we end up with. As long as you're the father of them, I'll have any amount-even ten."

"Sweetheart, we are definitely not having ten kids. I would go crazy. Especially if one was like Chad."

"You really think we would have a mini Chad?"

"Well, my dad gets like Chad sometimes, and since he would be the baby's grandfather, some traits from him might get into our son or daughter."

"I hope not."

"You know, it's six-thirty now. We have fifteen minutes until we need to leave for school. Are you going in your pajamas?"

"No. I don't feel comfortable wearing them around people I'm not close to. The shorts are ripped and the top just looks old. I don't wanna get teased."

"Alright. Well since I have on shorts and a t-shirt, I'll probably just go like this to school. I don't have time for a shower. I guess I'll need to get one when we get home."

"I don't have time to shower, either. I'm just gonna go in the bathroom, get dressed, then quickly comb through my hair."

"Sounds good. I'll grab some granola bars to eat in my truck on the way to East High."

"Okay; you go do that. I'll meet you downstairs in about ten minutes."

"Alright."

Troy and Gabriella then both went to do what they needed to do, their thoughts filled with the things they had just discussed with one another that morning, especially the 'I love yous.' They thought it would never happen, but it finally did. And there wasn't a more perfect moment for it, either.

* * *

**Sorry this was so short. Anyway, I want to thank writingnut2010 for giving me the idea of how to get rid of Chad (LOL) so Troy and Gabriella could finally tell each other how they felt:)**


	12. Week Two: Day Twelve: Thursday

Troy and Gabriella woke up the next morning smiling. Before they had gone to bed the night before, they had talked more about their future and how wonderful it seemed at the time.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Troy greeted, allowing his fingers to push a piece of Gabriella's hair out of her face.

"Good morning, Wildcat," Gabriella returned with a smile and a slight giggle.

"How did you sleep? It sure was an uncomfortably hot night last night."

"Pretty good. As you can see, I kind of threw the covers off of me in my sleep and moved away from you." Gabriella giggled again. "It was a bit hot for snuggling."

"That's okay. I actually don't think I would have been comfy snuggling last night, anyway. Like you said, it was too hot for it."

Gabriella slid out of bed and got an outfit to wear to school that day. "I'm gonna go have a shower. See you soon."

"Alright. I'll wait in here for my turn."

* * *

At school, Troy and Gabriella briefly kissed one another before separating to sit in their seats in homeroom.

"Hey, what's up?" Chad asked Troy as he walked up to him. "I saw you kissing Gabriella a second ago. You know you could get in trouble for doing that in homeroom. Ms. Darbus hates pretty much everything."

"Well, she hates when people speak poorly of her," a voice spoke.

Chad turned around to see Ms. Darbus. "Um.....I didn't say 'Ms. Darbus,' I said, 'Missed the darn bus.'"

"Nice try. You have just gotten yourself in detention. Be promptly back in this room at quarter after two today. You will stay until three-thirty," Ms. Darbus told Chad.

Chad didn't say anything; he just slowly headed toward his seat and sat down in it.

* * *

"'Missed the darn bus?'" Taylor questioned Chad at lunch.

"It was the first thing I thought of that sounded a little like Ms. Darbus," Chad defended himself.

"And you think I'm weird," Troy put in as he rolled his eyes.

"Well you are! I mean, seriously! No one spends more time with their girlfriend than you! And then you complain about me interrupting? You live with her! You get to see her all day and night!"

"I'm not living with her for long; after graduation and everything, she's leaving to go to California. I won't get to see her until the college year starts. And then, I might only get to spend time with her every other weekend."

"I'm gonna miss you," Gabriella said softly as she laid her cheek on Troy's shoulder and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "Promise me that you'll call me every day? And that you'll answer or, if you're not available, call back if I call you?"

"Promise," Troy agreed, pressing a gentle kiss onto the top of Gabriella's head.

"Aw, I wish Chad was this sweet," Taylor commented.

"I'm sorry Taylor," Gabriella began, "But I doubt Chad's gonna change from who he is."

"I know; but I can wish, can't I?"

* * *

That afternoon, Troy and Gabriella were lying lazily on Troy's bed. It was way too hot to do anything outside-or inside for that matter. All they felt like doing was lying around.

"Oh, at four-thirty I have to go get my nails done for the musical. I really hope Sharpay didn't make this big plan for me to get a weird color."

"Every time you mention getting your nails done, you always get worried about Sharpay setting something up," Troy observed.

"Well, it sounds like something she would do."

"Are you getting your toes done, too, or just your fingers?"

"I don't even know."

Troy leaned over and placed a kiss on Gabriella's cheek. "I'm sure everything will be fine," he assured her. "And even if it isn't-I'll still you love you."

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled.

"I'm still surprised that I actually got to say how I felt about you yesterday," Troy commented. "I was getting so nervous that something would ruin the moment, but then everything was alright."

"I was happy that you said it, and to tell you the truth, I was getting pretty sick of holding my feelings in, too." Gabriella reached over to brush a sweaty piece of hair out of Troy's eyes. "Do you have a fan in here or anything?"

"Unfortunately, no," Troy replied.

"Maybe you can come with me to Lava Springs and wait while I get my nails done," Gabriella suggested. "I'm sure there's air conditioning in there."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Troy echoed. "Only the best for Sharpay Evans and her family."

Gabriella giggled. "Of course. Do you really think Sharpay would settle for a low-class cooling item such as a-a-a _fan?_" At the end of her words, she let out a false over-dramatized gasp, much like one that Sharpay would make if she happened to be horrified by something.

Troy laughed at his girlfriend's actions. "You're silly, but that was a very nice Sharpay imitation."

"Thank you," Gabriella spoke playfully.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella arrived at Lava Springs nail salon exactly on time.

"Hi," greeted a woman with blonde hair-the same shade as Sharpay's-and icy blue eyes. "If you're here for a manicure, go sit down in the salon area." She then gave Troy a weird glare. "Why are _you_ here? We don't do young men. Or any men."

"The girl I'm with is my girlfriend," Troy explained, "I'm just gonna wait here while she gets her nails done."

"Oh, okay. Just don't be loud." The woman then walked with Gabriella over to one of the manicure tables and pulled up a chair for herself. Taking a glance at Gabriella's small fingers, which had short nails at the tip of them, she shook her head. "Short nails....not a good base for polish. Well, I'll see what I can do. By the way, my name's Julianne."

"I'm Gabriella."

"Okay, Brielle," Julianne spoke in a bored tone. "What color would you like your nails done in?"

"My name is Gabriella," Gabriella corrected politely. "And could I please see the color choices?"

"I think Brielle is prettier, so I'm gonna call you Brielle."

Gabriella let out a soft sigh. This was going to be a long manicure. She just hoped a pedicure didn't need to be done, too. How would she bear it?

Julianne grabbed a box full of nail polish and handed it to Gabriella. "Look through this. I'll get the other nail tools ready."

While Julianne was off getting what she needed, Gabriella dug through the nail polish container, searching for an appealing color. She found a cotton candy blue with just an ever so slight touch of shimmer to it. She took it out of the box and placed it on the top of the table.

"This one?" Julianne checked, referring to the nail polish Gabriella had selected, as she walked back over to her holding a bin full of water, nail clippers, and a cuticle pusher.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay. Let me put the other colors back then." Julianne grabbed the nail polish box and put it away. "Now, soak your hands in this water. It'll make your nails softer so I can trim them more easily."

Gabriella did as she was asked. Her fingers, unexpectedly, met warmth.

"That should be good," Julianne told Gabriella after about five minutes.

Gabriella took her hands out of the water and dried them with the towel that was hanging from a hook on the side of the table.

"Now, let me see your fingers."

Gabriella held out both her hands and patiently waited as Julianne clipped her nails until they were all of even length and sat still as the cuticle pusher dug some pieces of dirt out from under her nails.

"Now I need to push your cuticles back."

Gabriella was quiet as Julianne shoved the cuticle pusher into her cuticles and forced them back until they were right up against her skin.

"Now let me do a base coat," Julianne spoke, grabbing a bottle of clear nail polish and opening it. She then applied it to all of Gabriella's nails. "Wait five minutes for it to dry," she commanded when she was finished.

* * *

Half an hour later, Gabriella's fingernails were all painted and dry.

"Let me do your toes now," Julianne said, moving the manicure table away and pushing a large bin of water toward Gabriella. "Soak your feet."

Gabriella slipped her flip-flops off and put her feet into the warm water.

"Take them out," Julianne told her client after a few minutes had passed.

Gabriella did as she was asked and dried her feet.

Julianne bent down and took a look at Gabriella's toenails. "They seriously need to be trimmed. Oh, I hate pedicures. Girls just don't take care of their feet today and they're unbearable to look at, let alone touch."

Gabriella held in a frustrated groan. Julianne was really getting on her nerves.

* * *

That night as Gabriella and Troy were lying under the covers in bed, Gabriella remarked, "The nail salon wasn't the best place in the world."

"I think Sharpay gave you the worst possible manicurist," Troy spoke.

"Probably. I'm sure I'm too low-class for the friendly ones. Well, I'm sure to Sharpay, Julianne is friendly. Sharpay's not much better than she is."

"You're right," Troy murmured, kissing Gabriella's forehead. "So, are you excited to go to prom tomorrow night? I know I am."

"Most definitely!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I've never been to a prom before. I'm so excited to see how it goes!"

"So am I," Troy whispered, hugging his girlfriend.

Gabriella wriggled out of Troy's embrace, stood up, and began jumping on the bed.

"What are you doing?" Troy questioned, amused.

"I'm so excited! I have to get my energy out," Gabriella replied. As the words finished coming out of her mouth, she allowed herself to flop down into a sitting position.

"Well, I'm tired, so can you please try to get some rest?"

"Sure." Gabriella go back underneath the covers and snuggled up to Troy, burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Good night, Wildcat."

"Good night. Sweet dreams," Troy returned.

Just then, Gabriella began to squirm around again.

"Sweetheart, you need to settle yourself. If you don't, you won't have any energy left for prom tomorrow. And if that happens, I'll be stuck dancing by myself."

Gabriella forced her eyes shut. "Okay. I'll try my best," she promised.

"Thank you."


	13. Week Two: Day Thirteen: Friday

The next morning, Troy and Gabriella opened their eyes and rolled out of bed, excited to start their day so they could go to prom. The night they had been waiting for ever since they had found out about it-the dance they wanted to go to more than any other dance in the world.

"I'm so excited!" Gabriella squealed as she selected an outfit to wear to school that day.

"So am I," Troy agreed with a smile. "You're gonna look beautiful tonight! I really can't wait to see you in your dress. When I do, I'll be kissing you so much."

Gabriella giggled. "Well, I'm sure you'll look handsome in your tuxedo, too."

"Did you know that this year they're giving out a cutest couple award?"

"Really? No; I didn't know that. Do you think we'll win that?"

"I think we have a good chance of it. A lot of students-well, the girls, not the boys-think we're cute together. Also, there's the prom queen and king. If they go by beauty, you'll be the queen."

"Oh, I don't know about that. You'll have a really good chance of being the king, though. You're popular."

"If you're not the queen, I don't wanna be the king. You do know that the king and queen have to dance together. And I don't wanna dance with a strange girl. I'm still not great at waltzing, and I would prefer to dance with you so that you can guide me if I get stuck. And if the queen is Sharpay, there is no way in the world that I will be her dance partner for one round of dancing."

Gabriella rushed up to Troy and threw her arms around him, kissing him on the lips.

"What was that for?" Troy wondered, hugging Gabriella back in confusion.

"You're sweet," Gabriella answered, snuggling affectionately against his chest and closing her eyes, savoring the moment immensely.

Troy kissed the top of Gabriella's head. "Thanks for that compliment, but don't you think you should go get your shower now before we end up being late for school and getting a detention?"

"Oh, right, shower," Gabriella remembered, letting go of Troy and hurrying out of the room and into the bathroom.

* * *

"Alright, Wildcat, I'm locking you out of the bathroom," Gabriella announced that evening as she entered the bathroom holding her prom dress and make-up.

"Please hurry," Troy begged. "I really can't wait to see how beautiful you look in your dress."

"I'll do my best. I might be done in an hour or so."

"An _hour?_"

Gabriella nodded. "I have to shower, dry my hair, style it, put on my make-up, and then get dressed."

"But I need a shower, too, sweetheart. You can't hog the bathroom."

"Well then I'll go in your room and hog that while you use the bathroom. After I'm done in the shower, I'll leave and let you go in. But you can't come in your room until I say so."

"Gabriella, my tuxedo's in there."

"Take it in the bathroom with you or something."

"You have everything worked out perfectly, don't you?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. I get the bathroom first, and then I go in your room to do my hair, make-up, and get my dress on. While I'm in your room, you use the bathroom to shower and get your tuxedo on. When you're all done with that, you can knock on your door-_knock_, don't just walk in like before-and ask if I'm done. If I'm not, then-"

"Stop with all the rules! Why don't you just go to Taylor's house to get ready? Chad told me that she has two bathrooms. I have one. It would be easier if you just went to her place. And besides-you can't lock me out of my own room!"

"Calm down!"

Troy took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just nervous. But I promise that we can try to get ready at the same time and I'll knock before I come in any rooms, alright?" He put one of his arms around Gabriella and, pulling her close, kissed her cheek.

"What are you nervous about?"

"Prom. Dancing. What if I mess up real bad and everyone laughs at me? Or what if I'm prom king and Sharpay's prom queen and oh-I am not dancing with that girl."

"Just try to follow my steps. I know what I'm doing. And about Sharpay-you can refuse to do the prom king and queen dance. I'm sure you can. Also, if it's any comfort to you, I'm a bit nervous, too."

"Why?"

"I'm scared that I'll have the worst prom dress, that my hair will come undone while dancing and people will laugh at me, that some weird guy will ask me to dance and be mad when I refuse."

"If any guys give you a hard time about you refusing to dance with them, I'll take care of them."

* * *

Gabriella stepped out of Troy's room and walked downstairs, where she saw Troy standing in the living room holding her corsage. "Hey, Wildcat."

Troy stared at Gabriella. She just looked so perfect. Her black and white dress came just to her knees, her hair was piled up in a stylish bun, and her make-up was limited to brown eye shadow with some shimmer, a little bit of blush, and mascara. She wore no lip gloss or lipstick.

Gabriella giggled at Troy's reaction.

"You're beautiful," Troy commented, allowing his lips to meet hers in a passionate kiss. He was grateful that she hadn't put anything on her lips for the evening; it would have ended up being a total waste anyway, because the large number of kisses he anticipated would cause it to wear off.

Gabriella eagerly returned Troy's kiss. "Thank you," she smiled.

Troy took the corsage out of the box it was in and carefully pinned it onto the top of Gabriella's dress.

Gabriella looked to see the flower Troy had chosen. It was a red rose. "I love it," she told her boyfriend, reaching up to place a kiss onto his cheek. "Thank you so very much."

Troy pulled Gabriella close to him. "You're welcome."

At that moment, both of Troy's parents entered the room.

"We need to take prom pictures," Jack announced.

"Okay," Troy acknowledged. "Where do you wanna take them?"

"I was thinking on the porch would be good," Lucille replied.

A minute later, Troy and Gabriella were standing on the porch. One of Troy's arms was around Gabriella's shoulders and a smile was on both of their faces. After the camera flash went off twice, Troy decided to switch poses. He turned to the side and motioned for Gabriella to do the same. He took Gabriella's hands and laced his fingers with hers, staring into her eyes lovingly.

"Aw, I like that one," Lucille remarked.

A couple pictures of Troy and Gabriella in that current pose was taken, then they moved into a position where their arms were around one another. Gabriella's cheek was on Troy's shoulder. Once that picture was taken, they hurried off to the limousine that had just pulled into the driveway.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella entered the gym, where prom was being held. Tables were set up with food on them, music was being played, and seniors everywhere were talking, dancing, and-in Chad's case-stuffing themselves.

"Hi, Gabriella!" Taylor greeted, rushing up to greet her friend. "I love your dress!"

"Thanks," Gabriella responded with a smile.

"Chad sort of abandoned me for the pizza."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Chad will be Chad, I guess."

After several more people said 'hi' to Troy and Gabriella and more students arrived, the first slow dance of the evening began.

"Can I have this dance?" Troy requested, looking straight into Gabriella's eyes.

"Of course." Gabriella smiled and took Troy's hand, allowing him to lead her onto the dance floor. Together, they danced, their eyes locked together the entire time.

* * *

The evening was half over when one of the girls at the prom grabbed a microphone and spoke into it, "We have all the votes in for prom king, prom queen, and cutest couple." She then grabbed a sheet of paper and read the words that were on it. "Troy Bolton is-unsurprisingly-the prom king, and Kelsi Neilson is-unexpectedly-the prom queen."

"Well, it's not you, but at least I'm alright with Kelsi," Troy whispered to Gabriella.

"Ever since the winter musical last year, Kelsi has become pretty popular," Gabriella responded. "And I'll be alright if you go dance with her. She's my friend-and yours."

"And the cutest couple is-of course-Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez," continued the girl who was announcing all the winners.

Troy and Gabriella exchanged a smile and held each other's hands.

* * *

After the prom king and queen dance, Troy returned to Gabriella and Kelsi went off to find Ryan.

"Do you want some pizza?" Troy asked. "We didn't eat anything yet tonight."

"Sure." Gabriella followed Troy over to the food tables, grabbed a plate, and placed a slice of pizza on it.

Troy did the same as Gabriella, then suggested they find somewhere to sit down. When they did, he said to her, "I'm having a really fun night. How about you?"

"The only thing better than it was when you told me you loved me."

Troy smiled and kissed the top of Gabriella's head.

"Hey, congratulations on winning the cutest couple contest!" Taylor exclaimed as she approached Troy and Gabriella. "You really deserved it."

"Thanks," Troy and Gabriella both responded.

"You two are just adorable together!" squealed a strange girl that neither Troy nor Gabriella was familiar with. "Can I take a picture and ask Taylor if she can put it in the yearbook?"

"Okay," Troy answered, putting his plate down and cuddling up to Gabriella, wrapping one of his arms around her shoulders. If they were getting photographed as the cutest couple, he wanted it to look believable.

Gabriella also put her plate down, then laid her head on Troy's shoulder.

The girl snapped a picture, then, with a hurried thank you, rushed away to find her date.

"Out of everyone here," Troy began saying to Gabriella, "We're probably one of the only couples who are planning to stay together after we graduate."

Gabriella stared into Troy's eyes and told him, "We're planning to do much more than just stay together, aren't we?"

"Yes," Troy replied, putting his hand underneath his girlfriend's chin. Then in a whisper, he added, "Gabriella Bolton."

Gabriella blushed and hid her face in Troy's shoulder.

At that moment, another slow song began. Troy asked Gabriella to dance with him, and, of course, she accepted, so Troy led her into the middle of the room.

"Gabriella," Troy spoke as the dance started to come to a close, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Gabriella returned.

Then, Troy and Gabriella exchanged a kiss. And as they kissed one another, they thought about how real their love was. They weren't just thinking they were in love. They didn't want to be together only because they wanted to have someone to marry so they wouldn't be alone. Their hearts were really overflowing with love-a love they had never felt toward anyone else before. It was a special kind of love. It was what would keep their relationship strong after they began college. It was what would get them through anything. It was true love.

* * *

**I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for not making Gabriella prom queen, but I thought it would be way too obvious and too much for both Troy and Gabriella to get all the awards:) **


	14. Week Two: Day Fourteen: Saturday

The next morning, Troy and Gabriella woke up while the sun was streaming through the windows. Prom had went until eleven o' clock, and until they got home and ready for bed, it had been midnight.

"You're still sleepy, aren't you?" Troy said as he began to stroke Gabriella's hair.

Gabriella nodded and let out a small sigh. "Yeah."

"Well, why don't we just lie here and cuddle for a while? Usually my parents don't like me to be lazy like this, but since prom was last night and we have our musical and graduation tonight, I think they'll understand."

"Okay," Gabriella agreed.

Troy reached for the remote control that was on the floor next to his bed. "I'm just gonna turn on the TV and see if there's anything good on."

Gabriella responded with a slight nod of acknowledgement as she rested her head on Troy's chest and closed her eyes again, relaxing as she felt Troy's fingers continue to slide through her curls.

Troy kissed Gabriella's forehead before turning his attention to the TV. After putting it on a channel with something he liked, he cuddled Gabriella close to him and allowed his eyes to shut.

* * *

At two o' clock, Troy and Gabriella both woke up from the nap they had been taking for the past hour when a knock sounded at Troy's bedroom door.

"Come in," Troy acknowledged sleepily.

Both of Troy's parents walked into Troy's room.

"You two have been in bed all day!" Lucille exclaimed as she saw Troy and Gabriella wrapped up in one another's arms, their heads on the pillows and their bodies underneath Troy's comforter.

"We're really tired," Troy explained. "And we wanna get some rest before we have to go to the musical and graduation tonight."

"Well Chad just called," Jack told his son. "Apparently he actually got out of bed this morning-unlike you. And you know how much Chad hates mornings. Don't you think you should get up and call him back or something?"

"I'm spending time with Gabriella now."

"You're just sleeping and watching TV. You're not even talking to her."

_But we're snuggling,_ Troy thought to himself. However, he didn't want to say it aloud because he felt uncomfortable talking about the signs of affection he showed toward Gabriella. In fact, he wouldn't even talk to anyone besides Gabriella about it.

"Troy," Jack went on, "You know how Chad gets. Once he calls and you don't answer, he'll keep calling every half hour. It gets kind of irritating."

Troy groaned. "I'm not getting up."

"But you need to; please, before Chad drives everyone crazy."

"Unplug the phone or something. I don't know. But I'm tired." Troy rested his head on top of Gabriella's.

* * *

"Troy, Chad called again," Jack announced almost half an hour later as he entered his son's room to find that both Troy and Gabriella were fast asleep-yet again.

Troy opened his eyes slowly and whispered, "Shhh. Gabriella's asleep."

"Please call Chad back."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Gabriella's lying on one of my arms. And besides, I'm comfortable," Troy replied.

"Okay, well next time Chad calls, you will call him back-no exceptions."

* * *

An hour and a half later, Chad had called twice more. Both of Troy's parents were getting really annoyed with the repeated conversation:

"Hi, this is Chad. Is Troy there?

"No, he's in bed. I'll tell him to call you when he gets up."

"_Still_ in bed? Wow. Okay, then."

"Alright, bye."

"Bye."

"TROY!" Jack shouted while flinging open the door to Troy's room. "Get up. Now. Chad's phone calls have got to be ended. He says the same thing every time he calls! Go to the phone, dial his number, and find out what he wants."

The loud sound of Jack's voice awakened both Troy and Gabriella.

"Dad, don't just come in my room without knocking," Troy spoke, annoyance in his voice. One of us could have been getting changed. And if that was happening, and it was Gabriella, I would never forgive you. You would embarrass her so much, she would probably have to move out of the country and it would scare her a lot. So please-knock."

"I really don't care! Just GET RID OF CHAD'S PHONE CALLS!"

"Okay, okay. I'm coming." Troy kissed Gabriella's forehead. "I'll be back in a minute, okay?"

Gabriella squeezed Troy tightly before allowing herself to move away from him so he could get off of the bed.

"Don't waste time. Let's go." Jack was really mad.

"I'll call him from my cell phone," Troy mumbled, climbing back into bed after grabbing his phone off of his end table. "Now please-leave my room. And don't come in again unless you knock!"

Jack left his son's room, closing the door behind him.

Troy sighed and dialed Chad's number. After a conversation regarding basketball and then another one concerning that evening's events, he put his phone down and snuggled close to Gabriella. "Chad and my dad," he muttered unhappily. "Seriously-they just never stop. I hate it when my parents come into my room without knocking."

"Well, if they do that, then I guess that's why you do it," Gabriella decided.

"I only did it once!" Troy defended. And I apologized about ten times for it, too. I'll apologize more if you want me to. I still feel really bad about it."

"You don't have to. I'm over the embarrassment of it. Now I'm just thinking that I'm lucky it wasn't one of your parents that came in. I would never get over that. Ever."

"Yes, you are lucky for that reason. Though I'm still very sorry."

"I know you are, Wildcat."

* * *

At five o' clock, Troy and Gabriella managed to drag themselves out of bed and into the bathroom to shower-not at the same time, of course; they took turns-and get ready to go to East High for their final time.

"You look beautiful," Troy smiled as he pressed a kiss onto Gabriella's lips after she came out of his room dressed in the red knee-length dress she had gotten for graduation. Her dress for the musical was in her backstage dressing room. She would change into that before the show began.

"And you look handsome," Gabriella returned, kissing Troy back.

"I don't wanna graduate."

"I know, but look at our future."

"Gabriella Bolton," Troy whispered.

Gabriella blushed. She hadn't expected Troy to call her that again-especially so soon after he did before. "Just think of that," she suggested suddenly. "Whenever you get scared about the future, just call me that."

"Can I call you on the phone and say it if I need to?"

Gabriella nodded.

* * *

As Troy walked onstage to the place where Gabriella was standing, up in the balcony set that looked very much like the one that was attached to her bedroom-well, her old bedroom-he thought about how beautiful she looked. And also, how much he would miss being able to visit her at any time of the day.

Gabriella watched Troy come to her. In her opinion, he looked more handsome than he had ever looked. As he reached her, she looked into his eyes, which were filled with unmistakable love for her. And because of that, she was reminded that they were meant to be.

* * *

It came time for the graduation ceremony. Troy and Gabriella, along with all the other seniors, went onstage. Tears, both happy and sad were forming in Gabriella's eyes. Troy was half-smiling, unsure of whether or not to be glad or upset about getting his diploma. Their friends all pretty much appeared to be feeling the same way.

_Gabriella Bolton,_ Troy thought to himself, starting to picture him and Gabriella living in a house together. He could just imagine Gabriella holding their baby in her arms and see her kissing him every night before they went to bed and every morning after they woke up.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella rode back to Troy's house that night in Troy's car, their diplomas right with them. Gabriella had tears streaming down her face.

"So, we're finally done at East High. But I promise you; we'll return someday." Then, in a whisper, he added, "When our kids are in high school and we watch them play sports, do the Decathlon, or see them in the musicals." While he spoke, he took Gabriella's hand gently, keeping his free hand on the steering wheel.

"Our kids," Gabriella repeated, also whispering. "You don't know how much I love the sound of that."

* * *

**Okay, so I have a couple announcements. First of all, due to my time amounts and the fact that everything in this story is pretty much wrapped up, I'm going to do **_**one more**_** chapter. It'll be a sort of epilogue thing, basically an overview of things that happened in the last 4 days Gabriella was at Troy's house.**

**Secondly, I would like to recommend my FF friend's (younglove0913) story titled **_**The Beginning.**_


	15. Epilogue

During the four days that followed, Troy and Gabriella spent every second of their time together. They took trips to the park, stayed in bed until noon cuddling, went out to dinner, and saw movies. They were both sad that their time together was coming to an end, but then told themselves that in about a year, they would be renting an apartment together.

Jack and Chad had learned to accept the fact that Troy wasn't going to U of A and actually managed to feel happy for him. Chad would miss playing basketball with Troy, but he would get over it. And Troy's relationship with Gabriella actually inspired him to try to stay close to Taylor throughout their college years, even if it meant missing a Red Hawks' game every so often to go visit her at Yale.

Sharpay had also changed. She was becoming one of Gabriella's best friends, and also more of a friend than a bossy older sister to Ryan. She supported both Troy and Gabriella's relationship and Ryan and Kelsi's. She had also decided to stop distracting herself with other boys and stay with Zeke. After all, no one else really put up with the way she acted, and anyone who liked her for who she was-or used to be-deserved a chance.

The day Gabriella left to go to California was a sad day. All her friends went to Troy's house to say good-bye to her. She returned the good-byes with as little tears as possible. However, Troy drove her to the airport, and when she needed to say her final good-byes to him, it definitely wasn't easy. She sobbed and clung to him as if she would never let go. Troy was tempted to take her back to his truck and invite her to stay at his house until he moved to California for college, but then decided that her mother would be upset about that, as would his parents.

"Good-bye, Wildcat," Gabriella managed to say as gave Troy one last hug and kiss. "I'll miss you. And I love you."

"Good-bye. I'll miss you-and I love you-too," Troy returned. Then, as he let go of Gabriella, he added in a whisper, "Gabriella Bolton."

Even though it was a sad parting, Troy and Gabriella just kept thinking about the future. And they both decided that when Troy arrived in California at the end of the summer, it would be something to celebrate.

In those two and a half weeks, so much had happened-both good things and bad. What was going to happen in the future, no one knew. But Troy and Gabriella both knew that if they were together, there was nothing they couldn't make it through.

* * *

**Sorry the epilogue was so short:( I'm gonna miss writing this story:( I hope you all enjoyed it, and again, I apologize for the unreasonably short epilogue; I just didn't know what else to put in it. I'll finish **_**Spring Break**_** next, and then work on Whatever it Takes and try to get ideas for HSM8, which I apologize for putting on hiatus.**


	16. AN

**Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I'm starting fresh on a new profile. I'll still be writing Troyella, so go check me out at ~zefronsangel. I'll be posting the updated version of my story ****_Win Some, Lose Some_**** soon.**

**ZefronsAngel**


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